Judgement Day Fic
by Levana Fay
Summary: What if Mike had returned to Jenny's side a few seconds earlier? She's not sick in this story.
1. Chapter 1

Judgement day fic

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Rating: T

Summary: What if Mike Franks had realised something was wrong and returned to Jenny a few seconds earlier?

A.N.: Jenny isn't sick. I haven't actually seen series 5 or Judgement day yet, so I'm just using what I've been told about the episode to write this. Sorry if it's completely off.

Mike Franks was worried. This little favour he was doing for the Lady Director was giving him a headache and a serious need for the Mexican sun, a little cantina and a certain local barmaid. The small, rundown diner they were currently in just wasn't close enough, even if it was in the middle of a desert. The company wasn't too bad. He just wished she'd chosen a more defensible place. He wasn't so sure they were going to make it out of this little showdown alive. He was old and she had been stuck behind a desk for too long, making their combined reaction time nothing to pin any hopes on.

He was going to have to have a long talk with his old probie about not checking his partner's work, which Jethro seems to have forgotten to do all those years ago, when he was more interested in checking _her_ out. He chuckled a little at that. The second he had set eyes on her he'd known they'd had something. The way they acted around each other spoke of a deeper understanding than just being partners would have given them. They looked good together too. He knew what Jethro's feelings were. They'd spoken often about his life when he'd remembered something. He'd found out a lot about their relationship and why she'd ended it. While Jethro had never specifically said that he still loved her, Mike could see it in his eyes. Every time he looked at her, every time he'd spoken of her, every time he'd remembered her, he'd seen the love. That was why Franks was here, in the middle of nowhere, trying to keep her alive.

He looked over at Director Jennifer Shepard, who was at that moment, cleaning her gun. Her shoulder length red hair was tied in a messy pony tail, with tendrils falling loose over her cheeks. She looked up at him and smiled, gesturing to his belt.

"Have you cleaned yours?"

"Nah, I'll do it later. I wouldn't want to be caught with my gun in pieces when they come." Mike grinned uneasily. He had a bad feeling about this. They didn't know for certain that this Svetlana woman would actually take the bait and follow them here. She wanted to kill Gibbs because he had taken out her lover, all those years ago. They were hoping that she wouldn't just skip Jenny and go straight for him. There was a lot that could go wrong with this plan.

Jenny thought she was protecting Jethro by luring Svetlana to this place, so they could take care of her quietly. Didn't she know that he needed her? Didn't she realise that losing another person he loved would destroy him? She obviously didn't, and for that Franks decided to slap his old probie so hard, he'd give him another bought of amnesia.

"I'm getting thirsty; I'll go get us some water." He turned to the back door as she nodded, locking her gun back together and placing it on the counter in front of her. His bad feeling was getting worse, but he wasn't sure why. He swung the back door open and grabbed a jug, walking as swiftly as he could to the tap outside. The heat was welcome, reminding him of the better days of his retirement. Back when he had nothing to do all day but lay in the hammock, sipping corona, listening to the sound of the waves. He made it halfway to the tap before realising something was wrong. His bad feeling had been getting worse with every step he took away from her.

He dropped the jug and turned back to the diner just as he heard a car door slam shut. He cursed his stupidity as he raced back; pulling out his gun and flinging open the door. Four men were crowding through the front door, guns drawn. Shots rang out, and Mike took down the man closest to him, another of the men falling, killed by Jenny. One of the men turned in Franks' direction and shot at him. He crouched as the bullet hit his left arm, the stinging heat paralysing him for a moment before he saw his attacker fall. Mike jumped back up and pumped the last of his ammo into the last man before looking around for Jenny.

"Sound off, girl!" He looked around wildly, hearing nothing and ran around the counter in the middle of the floor, coming to a sudden stop at the sight that met his eyes.

Jenny was behind the counter, lying in a pool of blood, which was getting rapidly larger. He dropped to his knees beside her, dread gripping his heart. She had trusted him. He should never have left her alone. He'd known their chances were slim together; by herself she'd had almost no chance. She'd been shot twice, once in the shoulder and once in the stomach. Jethro was going to kill him.

He reached out to her, searching desperately for her pulse.

The relief was intense when he found one.

_Should I carry on? Is it any good? Please tell me what you think! :)_


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A.N.: Special thanks to MatteaAM who has helped me out a lot. Thanks again!

"Lucky little…" Franks muttered, as he let out the breath he was holding. She wasn't dead yet, so he set to work as quickly as his own wound would allow.

Mike pulled off his jacket and ripped the sleeve off; wrapping it tightly around Jenny's shoulder, hoping it would stem the bleeding. Tearing off the other sleeve, he wrapped it around his own arm where the bullet had torn through his skin, pulling it tight with his teeth. He tore what was left of his jacket in two and pressed the material to the bullet wound in her stomach. Blood seeped through his fingers and he had to fight hard with his despair. She would be ok, if he could just keep _**some**_ blood in her body. He pushed harder on her stomach with one hand and picked up her cell phone with the other.

Who should he call? No one was supposed to know they were out here. He wasn't looking forward to telling Jethro the love of his life was dying in front of him. After Jethro lost Shannon and Kelly, he became destructive. He had been driven by the need for revenge on the one who ripped his family from him. Losing them for a second time after his coma two years ago was almost too much. Mike knew firsthand what the loss of a child could do and he'd barely known his son before he died. Jenny's death might just be Jethro's undoing. He couldn't let that happen.

He punched in 911 instead and instructed the emergency services to send them an ambulance, knowing that it would take too long for them to get to her. He had seen too many people die, that was why he'd retired in the first place.

Just then he heard another car pull up. He knew he was out of ammo, but he was glad to see she wasn't. He picked up Jenny's gun and trained it on the door, waiting for the second wave of thugs to burst through. He smiled grimly. This time he wouldn't even give them a chance to look around. He heard voices as they crept up to the diner, and he shifted closer to Jenny's side. He'd let her down once, he wouldn't do it again.

The door to the diner was pushed open and a man stepped in swinging his gun to the right side of the diner. That act alone is what saved his life. If he'd looked to the left first, Franks would have put a bullet in his head before realising who it was. The man's partner rushed in after him, swinging her gun to the left. He was thankful to see Antony DiNozzo and Ziva David in the diner. He sighed and spoke up, hoping he wouldn't shock them in to killing him.

"It's about time!" Mike watched as they swung around to him before realising who he was. "We need to get moving. Now, before she bleeds to death."

They moved swiftly to his side and gasped when they saw their Director lying in a pool of blood.

"Jenny…" Ziva rushed forward and checked for her pulse, closing her eyes thankfully when she found one. "What happened?!"

"Get her into a car; we need to get her to a hospital. I'll call 911 and tell them we'll meet up with the ambulance I requested on the road." Franks ordered, ignoring her question. Tony lifted Jenny, while Ziva opened the doors. Franks phoned 911 and ran to the car, getting in the driver's seat before the young agents could argue. "Someone keep pressure on that wound!"

He watched as Ziva got in the back with Jenny and Tony got in the passenger seat. Not even waiting for them to buckle in, he brought the car to life and drove away from the diner and towards the rendezvous point with the ambulance. Before Ziva or Tony could ask what was going on, Jenny's cell began to vibrate and Franks picked it up off the dash board and tossed it to Tony.

"It's Gibbs." Tony looked at Franks, fear clear in his eyes and Mike spared him a glance as the kid reluctantly flipped the phone open. He held it to his ear and swallowed, unable to speak for a few moments.

"Boss? Boss… the Directors been shot. We're taking her to the Hospital… Yeah." He watched him flip the phone closed and look at Ziva. "He hung up."

Franks snorted. "Of course he hung up. He's probably already in his car and setting off! Wouldn't you if it was… that's the ambulance." He pulled up alongside it and the paramedics ran up to the car. "She's in the back."

He watched as Ziva held Jenny's wound and the paramedics pulled her out of the car. He got out too and decided to go to the hospital in the ambulance with her. He needed to see Jethro about this Svetlana, and he knew he'd go to Jenny. Plus he was bleeding, after all. He might blame himself but he wasn't suicidal. His vision was getting a bit wonky anyway. He probably would've sent the car into a ditch if he'd been driving much longer. The shock that had prevented his body from feeling the wound had worn off and he was in a lot of pain now. He'd almost stopped moving his arm because it hurt too much.

"I'm going with her." the two nodded to him and moved to get back in their car. "You two need to sort out the scene."

"We'll see you at the hospital."

He settled himself in the back of the ambulance and watched as one paramedic closed the doors and then ran to the driver's seat and the other saw to Jenny's wounds. The ambulance set off towards the hospital and Mike sat back waiting to arrive. By the time they got there, the paramedics had told him to prepare himself for the worst. She was weak and had lost a lot of blood. Her heart had given out twice and they had only just gotten her back the last time. At the end of one of the longest journeys of his life, Mike lost consciousness.

_The next chapter will be from Gibbs' point of view. :)_


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A.N: Thanks to everyone who's reviewed! You make me very happy! This one is quite a bit longer than the others, but my sister wouldn't let me split it in to two, lol. Thanks again to MatteaAM!

Leroy Jethro Gibbs just didn't know what to do. The evidence he had in front of him was telling him something he wasn't sure he could believe. The ballistics report showed that the slug pulled from the body of Rene Benoit matched a bullet fired from Jenny's gun. She couldn't have killed him, could she? It certainly looked like she would've if he hadn't disarmed her gun in her study. Had she just loaded her gun and gone after Benoit the moment he'd left her house? He couldn't believe it. That wasn't the Jenny he knew, the Jenny he trained.

He sighed, leaned against his boat and picked up his phone and speed dialled Jen. He knew that he'd have to tread carefully with her, but he was annoyed enough to demand the truth from her. He had gotten his revenge on the man who killed his family and in a roundabout way, Ari; it seemed she'd gotten hers on Benoit. He just wanted to know why she couldn't be honest with him. The phone was picked up rather slowly. _Jen usually picks up on the second ring_.

"Jen? Jen, you there?" The silence was giving him butterflies in his stomach and bad memories of when that Dempsey guy had abducted her. _If that's happened again DiNozzo and Ziva better be dying or they're fired!_

"Boss?"

"DiNozzo? Where's Jenny? Why are you answering her phone?" He felt the butterflies evolve in to a swarm of killer bees.

"Boss... the Director's been shot. We're taking her to the hospital."

He froze, his grip on his phone tightening. "The Hospital in LA?"

"Yeah."

He flicked his phone shut and just stared at it. His heart was heavy in his chest and his hands shook with shock. She'd been shot?! This couldn't be happening. She couldn't leave him. Not again. Not now. He forced his legs to move and ran up his basement stairs, his jaw clenched and aching from the pressure. It would be a long trip to LA so he was starting right now.

How had she managed to get in to trouble? She just went to LA for a funeral! _Only you, Jen_, he thought, remembering that time in Paris, when he'd had to rescue her from a letch, in broad daylight, halfway up the Eiffel tower, _only you_. He was thankful that at least Ziva and Tony had been with her. They were going to have a lot of explaining to do when he got there. The point of having a security detail was so that they protected her from harm. He couldn't be too angry though, she always had been good at giving people the slip.

The journey went by slowly, even with Gibbs driving like a mad man. He'd managed to get on a last minute flight to LA, taking 5 hours and grabbed a car, heading straight to the hospital. Gibbs had felt every second as it passed. How could this have happened? He'd had far too long to worry. Maybe he had been wrong sending Tony and Ziva; after all, not long ago they had been resentful of her very presence. Tony's voice over the phone had been saturated with guilt. Why? If they got in a fight, did they even try to help her? Or leave her to her death? Or was he just overreacting? He shook his head. His mind was coming up with conspiracies and negligence before he had the facts. Never assume.

He finally pulled in to the hospital car park, spotting a space and parking quickly, before storming to the entrance, through the doors and up to the desk. The woman behind it looked up and smiled, before his expression sunk in and she shrank back in her chair. He placed his hands on the top of the desk and leaned towards her, his foul mood filling the space between them, the Gibbs glare healthy and in play.

"Director. Jennifer. Shepard?" He enunciated every word clearly and she jumped in her seat before her fingers flew over the keyboard, bringing up the patients information.

"Sh-she's st-still in theatre, s-sir." She stuttered before quieting completely at his glare.

"Don't call me 'sir'." He softened his gaze a little as her face lost its colour, and asked where theatre was. She merely pointed in the vague direction. He sighed, closing his eyes. Maybe he should try NOT to scare the living daylights out of the hospital staff. His eyes snapped open as she found her voice.

"Th-the man who c-came in with her is i-in recovery, his m-muscle in his arm has been r-repaired…" She trailed off. He nodded his head as if it could make her carry on speaking. Seeing a way to be rid of the frightening man before her, she rattled off his room number. He nodded again and flew towards the unsuspecting patient. The lady sighed and sagged in her seat as he disappeared from sight. _I really hope I'm gone before he comes back._

Gibbs rounded the corner, coming to a stop outside the man's room. This could be the man who shot Jenny. Cold fury coiled in his veins and he threw the door open, fully intent upon ripping the guy a new one, when his eyes rested on the unconscious man's face. Mike? His fury subdued for the moment, he closed the door more gently and went to sit at his side.

"Why are you here, Mike? Why were you with Jen?" He softly asked the sleeping man. He was pale, his left arm bandaged with small blood spots gradually leaking through. If Mike was like this, what the hell was happening with Jenny?! His sliver of patience left him and he jolted up from his seat and stalked into the corridor, looking for a doctor or nurse to find out about Jen's condition. A nurse rounded the corner and he walked up to her, blocking her exit.

"Do you know the status of Director Jennifer Shepard?"

"I'm sorry, I don't. I'll have someone come and talk to you as soon as there is something definite to report."

"I'm in this room." He pointed to Mike's room and watched her nod as she left. Then he wandered back to Mike's room and sat down next to his bed. "I can't lose her, Mike." He closed his eyes, steadying his breathing. It's not over yet. She's still being worked on because she is still alive. They were still working because she wasn't giving up. _She's not leaving me_. He flipped his phone open and called DiNozzo. He waited as it rang on, finally being picked up by an emotionally drained Tony.

"Boss? You at the hospital? Is there any news?"

"She's still in theatre. Know why Mike is here, DiNozzo?"

"He went with the Director to the hospital. I think he was with her when she was shot."

"You THINK DiNozzo?! Why don't you KNOW? Where were YOU?" He shouted, his anger coming back with full force. They HAD left her.

"She gave us the trip off. She said she was just going to do work…"

"She'd do work in the hotel! When she leaves, you leave! You do understand the concept of a protection detail, right!?" He leapt up and began pacing, a red haze of fury descending over his eyes.

"I thought she was meeting some guy for sex-something." He corrected himself.

"Sex? So you disregarded her safety because you thought she was getting off? Ever heard of an ambush? Did it ever cross your mind she may have been lured away? If she wanted sex she'd wait until she was home so she didn't have to worry about being disturbed by security!" He was shouting down the phone, his head throbbing in time with his heartbeat.

"I know that now boss, but-"

"Not another word, DiNozzo! I want to see the crime scene report here in three hours! If you can do that!" He hung up, violently crushing the button on his cell. He stopped pacing and leaned his head back, forcing all the air out of his body sharply. _This is a nightmare!_ He'd sent his best agents to protect Jenny and they'd abandoned her.

"You shouldn't be so hard on them." The voice of his old mentor and friend croaked slowly. "They were only following orders." Gibbs turned to the bed and saw Mike looking at him. He looked dazed from the drug cocktail the doctors had given him, and he blinked a couple of times before seeming to focus. Gibbs sat back at his bed side.

"What the hell happened, Mike?" He knew his voice broke but he was too angry to acknowledge it. He watched the older man take a deep breath and then sigh.

"We were hoping to not involve you. This whole thing was supposed to be a secret." He stopped and looked around, frowning slightly. "How is she?"

"Still in theatre."

Franks nodded. "My pants pocket. There's a piece of paper."

Gibbs got up and picked up his bloody trousers, rummaging in the pocket till he found what he was looking for. He withdrew the blood soaked paper, trying not to think it was probably Jenny's blood and held it out to Franks.

"This is a code she wrote down in that diner. It's still legible. She was at Decker's funeral when she heard a code word that the three of you were to use if something went wrong. Oshimaida?" Gibbs looked up from the paper sharply. "She told me she screwed up. Didn't kill her mark. Said she believed Decker was murdered and she was next. Asked for my help to stop the woman, before she got you."

"We got out clean. There were no mistakes."

"Did you check?"

Gibbs looked away for a moment. "Why send Ziva and Tony away?"

"She didn't want them to get hurt."

Gibbs was silent for a while. "You were with her when she was shot?"

Mike looked down, unable to keep eye contact. "I left to get some water, got back just as the shooting started. I was only gone a few seconds but I realised something was wrong and went back. I was almost too late."

"You left her, too?" He whispered in disbelief. "Tony, Ziva AND you?!" He shook his head, as if it could change what he was hearing. "She was ALONE?"

"I was there in time, probie. It could've been much worse. If my gut hadn't told me to go back when it did, she could've died."

"She still might!"

Mike sighed. "She did this to protect you."

"How is dying going to protect me?" He asked softly, his voice full of emotion as he felt the tears threatening. _Not yet! Not till this is finished!_ He swallowed, forcing his head to clear. "These numbers are going to tell me what exactly?"

"Hopefully, they'll help you find this woman and kill her."

He nodded, looking over the numbers. He could remember how to decipher the code, it would just take time, something he was going to have a lot of while waiting for word on Jenny's condition.

_Tony's point of view next!_


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A.N.: Thanks once again to everyone who has reviewed my story!

Tony DiNozzo was tired. His eyes were aching from the long hours and his nerves were frayed. The phone call from Gibbs had been a blow to his conscience. He'd screwed up, big time. He sighed as he bagged another bullet casing. Jenny had never used the code words! How were they supposed to know she was going to get shot? He should've known though, shouldn't he? Ziva knew something was wrong, but every attempt she made to make him see what she saw, ended in him dismissing her words. He was, after all, the senior field agent. The last call was his to make and he hadn't made it. He'd let his own arrogance get the best of him. He was always acting like Gibbs, so he thought his gut would tell him something wasn't right with the Director. It hadn't though, and he'd left her to die. If Mike hadn't been there she would've been slaughtered and no one would've known until the time came to go back to DC.

He looked around the diner, taking in the bright light spilling in through the windows and bullet holes, dust swirling in the air currents. It was a miserable place to meet death. The bodies had been removed an hour previously and were on their way to Ducky in DC, the pools of blood on the floor marked out and labelled. He picked up the last card with 'Shepard' written on it, the one neither Ziva nor himself had been able to place and walked steadily to the counter. He took a deep breath and placed it on the ground, next to the red puddle and moved back to the doorway. There was nowhere to hide as the four men came in the door. She'd been outgunned and it was his fault.

In his mind, he was seeing Jenny lying where she'd fallen, rapidly bleeding to death, Mike kneeling beside her, pointing a gun towards them with his uninjured arm, his other hand roughly pressing on her stomach, trying to stop her life's blood leaking through his fingers.

"She's not dead, Tony." Ziva's soft voice washed over him, pulling him back to the present. She reached out a hand to him, resting it gently on his shoulder. Suddenly he felt ashamed of himself. Ziva was comforting him, when it should be the other way around. She had known Jenny years before he had; they had been friends and partners, relying on each other for back-up. How was Ziva holding up? He tried to voice the question, but somehow the words just stuck in his throat. What right did he have to ask her about her feelings now after ignoring her earlier, when she had felt that something was wrong? He averted his eyes and pulled away from her hand, not seeing the hurt he caused with his actions.

"Let's get to the hospital. Gibbs wants us to report. Bring the photos; he'll want to see them." His voice was cold and distant. He turned to the car and got behind the wheel, waiting for his partner to join him. Ziva slid in to the passenger seat and buckled in, not looking at him once. He knew he deserved it. He would apologise, he just couldn't help feeling he'd failed her too. He brought the car to life and drove quietly to the hospital.

Gibbs' words had well and truly hit the mark. _You_ _do understand the concept of a protection detail, right!? _Yes, he did, but he'd let the excitement of being in a different city take over. The chance to hire a fast and flashy car and watch Ziva sunbathe in a bikini had been intoxicating. _So_ _you disregarded her safety because you thought she was getting off?_ He had, because he thought she had wanted to keep her sex life as far away from Gibbs as possible, what better way then when you were at opposite ends of America?

*_Did you really? Or did you just want an excuse to have Ziva all to yourself?* _A nasty voice in his head whispered.

_No, that's not it at all_, he thought back, _we tried to get her to talk to us but she didn't want us there. What happened wasn't our fault._

_*You abandoned her, Tony. You don't want to admit that you knew something was wrong, because then you'd have to admit that you didn't care.*_

_That's not what happened! _

_*Didn't you want her to be alone? Weren't you the one that caused your team mates to hate her? To make Gibbs hate her?*_

_The blame for what happened with Jeanne was mine too; it just took a while for me to see it. _He thought sadly._ I never tried to make Gibbs hate her; he did that on his own. I forgave her._

"I forgave her." He repeated, this time out loud, hoping to stop the voice in his head.

"Forgave who?" Ziva's concerned voice reached him and he froze, not sure what to say. He realised that they were parked in the hospital car park and he didn't remember the journey. He could've killed them both while he was distracted with an imaginary voice. His recklessness knew no bounds, it seemed.

He remained quiet and Ziva threw herself out of the car, her patience at an end. He sighed and followed her in to the hospital, pausing to ask a harassed looking woman about the Directors condition. He allowed himself an amused smile at the reaction the woman had at the mention of Jenny's name, she looked like she was being faced with a pack of wolves and Tony knew that look only came from one thing; the memory of an angry Gibbs. He tried to smother his smile and asked for the location of Gibbs instead, knowing that by now all the hospital staff would recognise him. She told him he was with Mike Franks so they set off for his room.

Ziva arrived at the door first, holding out her hand for the handle. She nodded to him once then slipped inside and he followed, closing the door behind himself. Franks was asleep in the bed, laid back against the pillows and his arm had been bandaged. Gibbs was standing by the window with his back to them, looking out across the small park behind the hospital. The atmosphere in the room was oppressive, their breathing loud in the silent room. No one moved for a few minutes until Gibbs spoke.

"When I heard the Director was going to a funeral in LA, there was no doubt in my mind that _any_ of the agents at NCIS could and would, defend her." He paused and gritted his teeth. "I didn't want her _defended_, though." He turned around to face them, his eyes desolate as he tried to hold himself together. "I wanted her _protected_." He met and held their eyes for a moment before continuing. "So I sent my _best_ agents with her, knowing that they wouldn't let me down." He stalked towards Tony, entering his personal space, leaning towards him their faces close, the fury radiating off of Gibbs so strongly, that Tony found himself shrinking back closer to Ziva. "Why did a 60 year old retired man, who doesn't even live in this country, have her back… and not you?"

Ziva spoke first. "We were following her orders."

"You were supposed to be following her!"

"We did once we realised that she might be in trouble."

"I thought I taught you to anticipate? Or did you forget those lessons and the well being of a friend because the sun was shining?"

Tony finally opened his mouth to try and take the heat off Ziva. "Boss, we screwed up, we know that. We had McGee track her down for us after a girl was killed in the Directors rental. If we had done so before that she would have fired us or sent us back to DC. We did what we thought was best at the time."

Gibbs looked about ready to disembowel them, his eyes raging and calling for blood, when he suddenly calmed. He viewed them with disdain for a moment and then simply turned from them, as if they weren't there. He sat down by Mike's side and reached out a hand for the folder they had brought with them. Tony watched Ziva passed it to him and he took it, not looking up or acknowledging them at all. He opened it and took out the photos, spreading them in front of him.

Ziva told him about the evidence being taken to DC along with the bodies, but he seemed to be ignoring her. She wasn't used to the silent treatment, but Tony nodded at her to tell her to carry on anyway. She finished telling him about the scene, and then walked to the other side of Franks.

"Is there any news about Jenny?" she asked Gibbs softly.

He swallowed reflexively and bowed his head. "She's still in theatre, as far as I'm aware."

Half an hour later a doctor entered the room and everyone stood up to face him. He shifted nervously at the glare levelled at him from the crowd of people when he didn't start talking immediately.

"Director Jennifer Shepard's family?" They all nodded so he continued. He decided that none of them looked like doctors so he'd do this in laymen's terms. "My name is Dr. Eli Hargrove and I'm the surgeon seeing to Miss Shepard. She was shot twice, once in the shoulder and once in the stomach. The bullet that passed through her shoulder thankfully missed the joint. It did pass through the muscle, so she'll need Physiotherapy and her arm will need to be immobilised for a few weeks. In reality it'll be months before she'll be moving it normally. The other bullet narrowly missed one of the hollow organs in her stomach. Luckily your friend here Mr. Franks kept circulation by putting pressure on the wound until help arrived. We managed to repair the blood vessels that were damaged as the bullet passed through her, stopped the bleeding and we sewed up the entry and exit wounds. We lost her twice in the ambulance and once more on the table. She's lucky to be alive. We are keeping her sedated for a few days until her body can handle the stress of the increased blood flow caused by consciousness."

"Can we see her?"

"Of course, I'll show you to her room now." He motioned for them to follow him and then led them down the hall to a small, secluded room. Tony couldn't help but notice that the room was in a good position for security to stand outside and not disrupt the coming and going of patients and doctors. The moment Dr. Hargrove opened the door, Gibbs was through it. The doctor seemed surprised but covered it well and entered after they had all crowded through. "If you need help or something happens there's an emergency button above the bed. I'll leave you alone now."

"Thank you." Tony was the only one to respond to the doctor as both Ziva and Gibbs seemed mesmerised by the sight in the bed. He followed their eyes and sucked in a breath. Jenny Shepard lay on the white sheets, almost as pale as them. The blood loss had given her skin an almost translucent quality, making her red hair more striking. She didn't look asleep, she looked dead. She seemed like a ghost of the woman that had been their Director for the last three years. If her chest hadn't been rising and falling as she breathed, he wouldn't have known any different.

He watched in silence as Gibbs slowly reached out his hand to gently stroke his fingers over her cheek. He closed his eyes for a moment and then sat down beside Jenny and took her hand, stroking the back of it lightly. The moment felt too personal and Tony averted his eyes, feeling like he was intruding. He noted Ziva had done the same and his eyes caught hers. She looked at him with pain in her gaze, and he felt guilty. He walked swiftly to her side as he should have done earlier and took her in his arms, feeling her sag slightly against him and the front of his shirt become wet as it soaked up her noiseless tears.

Silence descended upon the room once more, everyone too preoccupied with their thoughts to notice the man outside the room, his eyes sweeping over it to land first on Jenny, then on Gibbs. He smirked and moved off quickly, to report the agents' presence to his Russian employer.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A.N: I scoured the internet for mention of Svetlana's lover but never found a name or nationality, so I made it up. In my story he was a Russian man named Artur. Thank you for your reviews!

Svetlana nervously paced her hotel room, deciding something must have gone wrong. She had been waiting eagerly for word from the hit men she had hired, to confirm that they had taken out Shepard. They were late in reporting in though, very late. She felt the annoyance building up inside her chest, curling her hands in to fists. She had been patient for years now, waiting until she had the money to hire the hit men and the connections to find her the information she needed. She had waited long enough for retribution against the man who had singlehandedly destroyed her life.

Her methodology to find them had been simple. She had scoured the hotel footage from the night of her attempted assassination, looking for a good image of the young, love sick woman who hadn't been able to end her life. She had finally found one that she could use for the facial recognition software and the result she got back was surprising. She had gotten the name she wanted, Jennifer Shepard, but she had also found out that she had become the Director of NCIS. A difficult target, to be sure. She had searched her record for mention of the assassination that she had been a part of in Paris, but strangely found nothing. She had been devastated, until she had thought to hire someone to hack the NCIS database for any agents that had been in Paris in 1999, and she had hit the jackpot. Three agents had been there at that time: Jennifer Shepard, William Decker and Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

She had known that she couldn't get to Shepard; she would have been too well defended, so she had decided to go after one of the men. William Decker had been the younger of the two, and in her mind, the more likely to have gotten the drop on her lover, Artur. Finding him had been too easy, so was making him talk. He had told her that he hadn't been the one that killed her lover, Gibbs was. She had decided to dig deeper in to his file and her persistence had been rewarded. Gibbs, the man who the now Director Shepard had been involved with back in Paris, the man who had killed Artur, her whole world, was not only currently stationed in the same state, but in the same building as Shepard. It was fate.

She had been so excited to finally be in the position to avenge the love of her life that she had taken advantage of her connections. She wouldn't just kill him; she'd take down the three person team one by one, saving him for last. Killing Decker had been ridiculously easy, luring Shepard away from safety for his funeral and in to Svetlana's trap. But the men hadn't called in the kill, so she had to assume they were dead. Her phone began to ring and she snatched it up, pausing only to look at the caller ID.

"Abram, is she dead?... The men I sent?... All of them?... Where was she taken?... Check on her and call back." She hung up and sighed in frustration. This wasn't supposed to happen! She wasn't supposed to survive! She kicked the wall closest to her, her toes connecting painfully with the wall. The pain would help her focus. It was all she had now, since that day nine years ago. She would get her revenge! She'd just have to change her plans and kill her in the hospital. He would go and see her after all, wouldn't he? Well she was going to make sure he felt this loss, like she had felt Artur's. Her phone rang again as Abram called back.

"Yes?... He is?... Perfect." She smiled, calming as the plan took form in her mind. He was already there with her and Abram was in place with reinforcements at her disposal. She would complete this mission. After all, it was destiny.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A.N.: Thank you to Pandora of Ithilien and elflordsmistress for setting me straight on the name of Svetlana's lover. It's Anatoly, not Artur.

Gibbs sighed and rubbed his eyes. He had been sitting by Jen's bedside for hours, hoping that she would stir, but at the same time dreading when she'd wake up. Her skin was still too pale, a fair vision sleeping through the pain, a little colour returning in her cheeks from the blood transfusions. He didn't realise he would feel so empty when he could no longer look in to her emerald eyes. He had already resolved to help her through the recovery period, by doing anything she needed him to. He just hoped she would want him there. He had been dismissive of her overture when she had been caring for Carson, even though it cost her pride to make it. How he had wanted to say yes, but the reality was that she was just broody, the child in her house was the only reason she had propositioned him. She would always put work before him and he was afraid of his heart being trampled once again. Had he hurt hers by trying to protect his? He hadn't thought so at the time, but now he wasn't so sure. The nurse had changed her dressings half an hour ago, the only time he was made to leave the room, and he had sat right back at her side.

McGee had contacted him earlier on to let him know about the identity of the men from the Diner. Hired guns. One of the men, a Viggo Drantyev had arrived at LAX a few days before the shooting, with a woman. McGee had been trying to get a hit on the facial recognition software and to decode the numbers from the paper Mike had given Gibbs. He'd also warned him that the Assistant Director was on his way to NCIS to interfere with the investigation, great. At least some of his agents could still do what he asked. He felt guilty as soon as he thought it. True they should've stayed with her at all times, but then he knew she was their boss as well. It was her fault too; he just couldn't bring himself to blame her when she was injured so badly.

A coffee suddenly materialised in front of his face and he grunted his thank you. Tony and Ziva had been supplying him with an endless stream of caffeine, probably in the hopes of getting back in his good books. It was going to take more than that before he trusted them with her safety again. He got up from the side of Jenny's bed and wandered to the window, pulling out his ringing phone as he went. He came to a stop in front of the glass and answered.

"Gibbs"

"Boss, its McGee. I've been going over the airport footage of when Viggo arrived in LAX and I got a hit from the woman that was in a car with him. She's a Russian woman called Natasha Lencov. She didn't exist before 1999 but she made it big in import/export. I've sent you a picture message. Oh and Boss… Assistant Director Vance has arrived to take over the investigation in to Director Shepard's shooting."

"Get a hit on those numbers yet, McGee?"

"Uh… no Boss, but I'm still trying."

"I'll be sending DiNozzo and David back to DC soon to help with the investigation." He snapped his phone shut, waving the two sullen figures out of the room. "Go watch Mike." He then turned back to the window and leant his head against the pane. Things were such a mess, he thought of Tony like a son, he'd known him for years and he had trusted him with his life. But now he wasn't sure he could trust him anymore. He decided to look at the picture message McGee had sent him and nearly dropped it out of surprise. It was _her_. It was Svetlana. _No! It can't be… Jenny wouldn't have let her live… would she?_

Just then he spotted something moving out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned his head to see what it was, there was nothing outside the window but the trees and plants in the garden for patients to walk in. He shook his head, he was getting jumpy, and this case was too close to his heart. The picture of the woman who was supposed to be dead was causing him to see _other_ things that couldn't possibly be there.

He went to sit back by Jenny's side when he heard a commotion out in the corridor. He unclipped his Sig and stepped out in to the hallway, to see a woman with her back to him, surrounded by doctors and nurses, screaming about her baby not breathing while holding her bundle close to her chest. None of the medical staff could get close to the baby for the hysterical woman's screams and wildly flailing arms. He sighed and walked closer to the scene, deciding to try and help out.

All of a sudden, she turned around and looked him square in the eye. He froze mid step, the shock preventing his mouth from working as he stared at the face of the woman from McGee's picture. The woman before him levelled her gaze at him, full of hatred and soulless torment. Then she turned on her heel and fled away from the throng of doctors towards the exit. Gibbs took off after her, desperate to stop her from escaping again.

Unobserved, a man slipped in to Jenny's room, closing the door gently as Gibbs chased the Russian Ghost.

Gibbs chased her all the way out of the hospital entrance and in to the car park, shouting for people to move out of his way as he went, as all the patients seemed to choose that moment to wander around in the corridor. She stopped ahead of him and turned to stare at him again. He slowed as he got closer and pointed his gun at her.

"You've got nowhere to go Svetlana."

She smiled at him contemptuously as the sound of skidding tires reached their ears and then she threw her baby bundle at him, jumping in to the back of a van as it came skidding around the corner. He instinctively lowered his gun to catch the baby gently, and then he fired off a few rounds in to the retreating vehicle, catching the rear window before it sped out of sight. He turned to check on the baby, only to realise it was a doll holding a letter. He plucked the letter out of the bundle, dropping the doll on the pavement and ripped open the envelope. He opened the paper and stared at the words in horror.

_You took my love from me, so I've taken yours. _

_Two down, only you to go._

_S.C._


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Ziva David was worried. Jenny had nearly been killed, Gibbs blamed them for it and Tony hadn't spoken to her since they had gone to get Gibbs his last coffee. It hurt that Tony was shutting her out whenever she tried to talk to him; it hurt more than she cared to admit. She sighed and gave the now conscious Mike a weak smile which he returned with as close an approximation as he could manage, which looked more like a grimace.

"Soon as she wakes up, he'll come around." He told her, confident in his assessment of Gibbs' character.

She nodded to him gratefully and turned to stand by the window with Tony. She put her hand on his arm and gently tugged, then violently pulled him to face her when he refused to move.

"What is wrong with you? You are acting like a little-"

"Snitch?"

"Not this time, Tony. You don't deserve polite." He turned back to the window as if burned and she realised that he was still feeling guilty about leaving Jenny. She wasn't good at comforting people but for Tony she would give it a go. "In Mossad, you get used to your friends dying around you and there being nothing you can do to stop it. Jenny was my partner for a few years, the longest time I ever had a single partner, because she's lucky and she was a very good agent. We worked well together, we trusted each other with our lives and we grew close, we were friends." She grasped his chin and turned his head to face her. "I don't blame you, Tony, and neither will she." She smiled, delight coursing through her when he smiled back, their eyes connecting and holding for a long moment.

"You hear that?" Franks spoke up, drawing their attention to a commotion out in the corridor. Ziva ran to the door and yanked it open just in time to see a Gibbs shaped blur speed past it, gun drawn. She darted out in to the hall, staring after him to see what he was chasing but he passed the corner before she could see anything. She had just decided to go back up Gibbs when Tony barged past her. In the opposite direction.

"Tony?"

"I'm not making the same mistake twice!" he tossed over his shoulder.

Ziva muttered something unpleasant under her breath and followed him along the corridor towards Jenny's room. They pushed the door open bursting in and walked over to her bed. They stopped in their tracks when they saw two men already in the room. One was holding the window open and the other was smothering Jenny with a pillow. For a second no one moved as they all looked at each other in shock, then they seemed to move simultaneously. The man holding the window began to climb through it and the other threw the pillow at Ziva, blocking her shot. Tony dashed forward and launched Gibbs' still hot coffee in to the air; it hit the man at the window, scalding his neck, causing him to fall backwards in to the room, he didn't get back up. Tony got his gun out and pointed it at the last threat in the area.

The other man picked up Jenny as a shield and moved back towards the window. Ziva tried to circle around him but he made it first. He wrapped the arm that wasn't holding Jenny up around her head, preparing to snap her neck if they got too close.

"If you do not move back I **will** break her neck." He told them quietly, tightening his arms around her to prove his point, constricting her throat. Ziva wanted to just shoot the man, but his head was hiding behind Jenny's. She knew that if they didn't act fast, Jenny would die either from a broken neck or asphyxiation. Suddenly he moved his arm from around her face and put it in his pocket, drawing out a syringe and jabbing it in to her arm. Ziva made her decision and knew instinctively that Tony would realise what she was doing and act accordingly. She moved her gun to the left and shot the window out. The man flinched away from the flying glass, dropping the syringe and moving his head just a fraction out from behind Jenny's, giving Tony a slightly better shot, which he didn't hesitate to take.

The shot to the head dropped the man and he took Jenny to the floor with him, his arms tightening in his death throws for a few seconds before going completely limp. Ziva rushed forwards and kicked the man away from Jen, making sure he was no longer a threat to her or them, and then she moved out of the way so Tony could pick her up and place her back on the bed. Ziva then put on a spare pair of gloves that she had decided to carry, ever since she and McGee had been sent to look through sick and they had forgotten to pack some. She picked up the syringe and looked at the viscous liquid inside it. It looked nearly empty.

"Tony, call for a doctor!"

He looked at her in surprise for a moment, then his eyes took in the syringe and he dashed out in to the hallway, calling for every doctor within earshot, most of which were already on their way having heard the gun shots. Dr. Eli Hargrove was the first through the door and he strode straight to Jenny's side.

"What happened?"

"One of those men tried to smother her and then injected her with whatever is in this syringe." Ziva handed it to Eli and he gave it a cursory examination.

"Could be venom, I'll have the lab test it and request antivenins for the most lethal." He swept quickly out in to the corridor and off to the lab, narrowly avoiding a collision with a distraught Gibbs.

Jethro sped past him and into Jenny's room, only stopping once he was by her side. He felt for her pulse, making sure she was alive and then sighed in relief when he found one. He stroked her face lightly and placed the letter on the side table, then froze when he noticed the bodies on the floor. He turned away from Jenny and came face to face with Tony and Ziva.

"What the hell happened here?" He indicated the bodies and they filled him in on what had gone on.

"We just knew that we were not going to leave her alone again, Boss." Tony finished the report and awaited the reaction of the emotionally strained team leader.

"So… You tossed my coffee?" he asked in mock seriousness.

"I didn't have time to get out my gun and then shoot the guy; he would've gotten away, so yes, I threw your coffee." Tony stated somewhat angrily. Gibbs smiled slightly and then put a hand on each of their shoulders.

"You did good. Now gather their possessions and send them to be processed. I want to know who they were." They did as they were told and set to work on the 'crime scene'. Gibbs stood back at Jenny's side and brushed some of her hair off her face. "Thank you." He said quietly to his agents. For the amount of time it had taken him to get to her room, he had believed that she really was dead. Svetlana had distracted him and led him away from Jen, leaving her unprotected and he hadn't even realised. If it wasn't for Tony and Ziva, she would be dead now, of that he had no doubt. His relief at seeing her alive was all consuming and he felt weak and drained. He needed to get her out of here and back home. He needed to see the familiar walls of the hospital in Bethesda, where he knew every way in and out and could post security accordingly, but most of all, he needed to see Abby, McGee and Ducky, to tell them that Jenny is fine and receive the Abby hug he knew was waiting for him.

"Got the results back, it was western Diamondback venom; I got the antivenin right here." Dr. Hargrove smiled and injected the antivenin into Jenny's arm. Gibbs motioned him over to him.

"I want her transferred to Bethesda Hospital in DC. Now."


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except Abram and Dr. Hargrove. They are products of my imagination.

Jenny and Mike were air lifted to Bethesda hospital four hours after Gibbs 'requested' it. Luck had been with them and Jethro had managed to catch the air lift to Bethesda with them, while Tony and Ziva accompanied the bodies and evidence from the scene in the LA hospital. Mike Franks was doing well for his age, but the wound still prevented him from being released. The muscle was repaired but it would take longer than usual for it to be back to normal, due to his 'diet' of lots of alcohol and not much food.

The doctors took Jenny and Mike straight to an isolated room, where Gibbs had requested the Directors' Protection Detail to stand guard, something they were happy to do. Once they were settled into their beds, Gibbs dismissed the doctors and told the Detail not to let anyone in unless they had proper ID, or were NCIS employees. He settled himself on the edge of Jenny's bed, leaning over to tame the mess that the air lift had made of her hair. He noticed Mike watching him and he gave him a quick glare, which judging from Mike's even wider smile, did nothing.

"So you coming back here, did it actually resolve _anything_ between you?" Mike challenged. Gibbs internally sighed and decided to feign ignorance.

"Whatever there might have been between us was resolved years ago."

"Bull!" Mike exclaimed, shaking his head in disappointment. "I thought it was just her, but now I see what she was up against and I can't say I like it. Do you remember pouring your heart out to me on my boat? Do you remember my advice? Did you have any intention of acting on your feelings? Or did you just tell me that to get me off your back?" the anger and hurt in his voice was clear and stung Gibbs. He looked away from Mike to jenny, lying still on the bed. Her chest moving was no longer the only indication that she was alive. Her colour had returned and she looked more asleep then unconscious. More like _his_ jenny. He felt the ghost of a smile lift his lips as he remembered the last time he had been in this position with her.

He hadn't felt sleepy that night, so he had watched her sleep long in to the morning, watched the sunrise slowly illuminate the room and them in the bed, the white sheets looking orange and the soft glow of the rising sun had given her skin making her look like gold. His own personal treasure discovered in Paris, the city of love. The treasure he vowed never to let go, only to do so, mere days later when he had discovered the Dear John in her coat pocket. He hadn't followed her, hadn't even called her, his pride hurt and unwilling to let him crawl back to her.

Ducky had introduced him to Stephanie a few weeks later and he had married her, hoping she could heal his twice broken heart. She hadn't, and she had become weary of his reticence and addiction to work, divorcing him soon after. Then years later Jenny had walked back in to his life. He had worked hard to shut her out, going as far as to countermand her orders and block her looking in to his cases, even though she was entitled to do so. In retaliation she had broken the chain of command, by trying to get information from his agents before he got it. If there was one thing they were good at, it was pissing each other off. His smile grew wider at that thought and he took her hand in his, softly stroking the back with his finger tips.

The door opened quietly, admitting Ducky before the Detail guys closed it firmly behind him. He said hello to Mike, who returned the gesture. He walked over to Jenny and Jethro and put his hand on his shoulder.

"I've spoken to the doctors, the venom doesn't seem to have compromised the blood vessels in her arm, and the bullet wounds will obviously take a lot longer to heal completely. So long as the bandages are changed often and there are no complications she'll be able to go home soon. Good news really. How are you holding up?"

"I'm not that good, Duck. This is getting to me."

"Jethro, sometimes you really don't see what is right in front of you until it is ripped away. I know that she has always been independent, confident even, but she is only human, with all the faults that come with it." He let that sink in, though if he knew Jethro, he'd forget it as soon as she woke up and they'd be back to square one. "She will require help doing everyday tasks since her arm will be immobilised for a few months and her stomach will need to be kept as relaxed as possible. Something you might be willing to see to?" he nudged him gently, hoping he would take up the challenge. He wasn't disappointed as he saw the old Gibbs look in his eyes as Jethro thought about having Jenny in his arms daily. It would be heaven and it would be hell, but it would be worth it. Hopefully.

"It is, thanks Duck." He gave Ducky the smile he reserved just for him; the father figure that always seemed to know just what to say. He was so glad they were back in DC, he'd missed the old ME.

Gibbs went back to NCIS with Ducky, who had autopsies to perform on the two bodies brought back from the hospital in LA. He left Ducky in the elevator when he got off on Abby's floor with a caf-pow for her, anxious to get information on the two men waiting in autopsy for Ducky. He heard the loud music coming from her lab and he strode through the doors, straight past her and into the other room to turn it off. She looked up from her work, her eyes red and puffy and launched herself at him, crushing him in a hug.

"Gibbs! I was so worried about you! Tony and Ziva arrived a while ago and told us everything. I can't believe we nearly lost the director! And more than once! She's always been so indestructible, you know? It just made me think, what if we'd lost her? There are so many things I want to do with her, like I wanted to go shopping for a new court suit with her, 'cos you know she always looks so great. I've got to tell her that! She's a snappy dresser and she doesn't know that I think so…" Gibbs let her rattle on, content to have the hug and wondering if giving her the caf-pow he'd brought her was a good idea. The last thing he needed was an Abby chipmunk bouncing around the lab.

"…and do you know the consequences of snake bites? Most of the venom is Proteolytic, which destroys tissues and other cells through intramolecular digestion and causes a bunch of other toxic problems. Loads of snake bite victims have pain in the area for a few weeks after…" he tightened his arms around her slightly; grateful for her not commenting on the fact he hadn't let her go yet. In truth, he really needed the reassurance. He wanted to hold Jenny, to know that she was going to be ok, that she wasn't going to be attacked the moment he left her, which is why he was here, to try to find anything that could lead him to Svetlana.

"…and Tony and Ziva were called in to the Director's office by Acting Director Vance to report to him. Oh! You are supposed to report to him when you get here! Well, you're here now, so-" Gibbs put his finger over her mouth, stopping her mid sentence.

"What have you got for me, Abs?"

"Not much. They were Russian nationals, got here about a day after Viggo and Natasha; they only had cigarettes, a lighter, a cell phone, some breath mints and about thirty dollars on them. Combined. Their names are…" she tapped on the keyboard and two files with pictures popped up on the big screen. "…Abram and Boris Melcovich. The phone belonged to Abram. According to this, they both had extensive dealings with Natasha over the last few years, Abram especially." Gibbs nodded and picked up the phone. This was his ticket to stopping this once and for all, she didn't know he was dead yet, so maybe... He distracted Abby with her caf-pow and slipped the phone in to his pocket, and then he snuck out of the lab and into the elevator, taking it to Jenny's office to have a chat with the impostor Director, Vance.

_Venom information came from Wikipedia, the page headed Crotalus atrox. Should Vance be a good guy, or a bad guy? I'm not sure, what do you think?_


	9. Chapter 9

A.N.: Many thanks to MatteaAM for providing the speaking lines of the flashback conversation between Mike and Jenny at the diner. I decided to flesh it out a little ;) Thanks again! Happy New Year everyone!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

When Gibbs entered Jenny's office, Vance was seated behind her desk. He looked up in surprise which quickly turned to anger as Gibbs threw the door open, almost like he was trying to tell Leon that nothing was changing. Jenny would be back, so he was free to treat her office like he always did. Vance's glare didn't faze Gibbs, so he decided to get straight to the point.

"Agent Gibbs, welcome back." Leon plucked a tooth pick out of the pack that he had placed on the desk and put it in his mouth. He rose from the desk and began rounding it. "Agent DiNozzo explained the attacks on Director Shepard, both in the diner and in the hospital, to me." Gibbs found his gaze drawn to the tooth pick as Leon spoke, flicking it around his mouth between words. With effort he forced his eyes back to Leon's face as he drew closer. "It seems to me that this second attack was much more… personal… to _you_." Vance came to rest in front of Gibbs. "Would you know why, Special Agent Gibbs?"

Jethro knew Vance wasn't stupid, but this was something he didn't need to know about. This was his and Jenny's business and he wasn't about to let this vulture get any dirt on Jenny. He straightened up to his full height and glared at Vance, right in the eye.

"I only know that whoever wants Director Shepard dead will be found and dealt with, _Assistant_ Director Vance."

Vance's face hardened and he spat his next words at him.

"Agent Gibbs you will not interfere with **my** investigation. When this suspect is apprehended I expect him or her to be brought to interrogation immediately. Is that clear?" Gibbs had the sudden urge to grab that tooth pick and stab him in the eye with it, the bastard would never see Svetlana, he would see to that. He gave one last glare to Vance and turned to the door. "I'm trying to help her, Gibbs, but your attitude is making it impossible for me to do anything."

_Sure you want to help her, _Jethro thought, _into the ground so you can have her office._ He left without a word, slamming the door as he went, leaving Vance shaking his head in frustration.

Jethro stormed down the stairs to the elevator. He had liked Leon when he had first met him, but he had turned into someone he couldn't trust. Somehow he had even developed a serious dislike for the tooth pick that Leon seemed to value so much. What was wrong with the guy? Jethro shook his head. He didn't brush or floss his teeth in the middle of the bullpen during a busy day. Why did Leon insist upon seeing to his oral hygiene in the presence of others? He shuddered at the thought of having to deal with the guy on a permanent basis.

He stepped out of the elevator on the ground floor and hurried over to the archives building. He didn't need McGee to decipher the code now; he already knew what the numbers were. When he had seen Svetlana in the picture message McGee had sent him he had realised what they meant. He convinced the man in archives to take a leak so he could take the case file, since the guy owed Franks a favour. He jumped in his car and drove back to the hospital, eager to be back with Jenny and Mike, the only other people who knew what was really going on, the ones he could talk to about what was happening. Well, one, until Jen woke up.

He got there in record time and swept through the corridors to the room she shared with Mike. He nodded to the detail at the door and they opened the door for him to enter, closing it as he passed through.

"Mike, you just got this file out of archives." Gibbs gave the file to the older man who nodded in understanding.

"Got it probie, you owe me." He stashed the file under his pillow and turned to try and give Gibbs a little privacy. He gave up when his arm protested and he groaned in pain. "If you want privacy, probie, draw the damn curtain."

Gibbs just shook his head as Mike tried to pretend he wasn't in pain. He thought about getting a nurse, but decided against it. He'd never hear the end of it. He sat on the edge of Jenny's bed, his now customary place, and leaned over her, checking her shoulder wound. Ducky had told him that if he was serious about looking after her when she was fit to leave the hospital, he would need to prove to the nurses that he could clean and re-bandage her wounds. Ducky had asked the nurses to provide him with a bowl of water and clean bandages so he could practice under his watchful eye. He had made Jethro repeat it five times before he was satisfied that he could do it without causing undue discomfort.

Gibbs smiled and peeled back the bandage and reached over for the bowl of water the nurse had left for him. The water was still warm and he dipped the sponge, and then gently cleaned the wound. Jenny flinched away from his touch. He felt his heart rate speed up and he hastily put the sponge back in the bowl.

"Jenny?" she didn't move again so he gently dried the wound. She flinched again, this time gasping as well. Quickly he changed the bandage and buzzed a nurse. "Jenny? Can you hear me?" she stirred, moaning softly as she tried to open her eyes, all the bruises and wounds making themselves known to her. Jethro looked over to Mike's curious face. "She's waking up."

----

The first thing she was aware of was pain. Her body ached and she felt the familiar burn of bullet wounds, the one in her stomach hurting the most. Her shoulder wound seemed to aggravate so she instinctively tried to pull away. Why was she hurt? She didn't remember much after getting to a diner… the diner… Decker's diner! She focussed on the memory, trying to follow it, but it was difficult, like wading through mud. She was talking to Mike… and then she was cleaning her gun… Mike left for water so she had decided to look out the window… She recalled seeing a car coming closer to them, Mike had left so she'd kept quiet, hoping he would at least get out of it alive... She'd readied herself to fire as the men burst through the door... She remembered shooting them as they filed in, but they saw her, she had managed to dodge a few bullets but then she was hit and fell back, her head hit the floor... she had struggled to stay conscious but her body seemed to shut down.

_Mike!_ _What happened to Mike!_ She felt panic grip her as she remembered that he had come back during the fight, drawing the attention of some of the men. Men, no women. Svetlana hadn't even come after her to kill her, so she would still be after Jethro. She couldn't stay unconscious when he needed her! Her shoulder flared up again and she sucked in her breath sharply as she tried to pull further away. What _was_ that? She found that it was easier to think now, her memory was complete she was sure of it, so where was she?

"Jenny? Can you hear me?" _Jethro!_ He was right by her; she could hear his heavy breathing and the concern in his voice. She tried to open her eyes but she was tired, the pain and wounds taking a toll on her body. "She's waking up." Who was he talking to?

"About time if you ask me." The reply came from a scratchy, deep voice. _Mike?_ She tried harder to open her eyes, the lids parting slightly under her efforts. Light shone brightly in to her eyes and she immediately squeezed them shut and groaned audibly. She began to stretch slightly but stopped when the burning pain reminded her she was injured. She opened her eyes slightly once more, blinking rapidly trying to keep her eyes open.

"Hey Jen, you gave us quite a scare." Jethro was sat on the bed next to her, watching her carefully. She avoided his eyes and looked around, realising she must be in a hospital. She spotted Mike in the bed next to hers and gave him a quizzical look.

"Jethro? Mike? What happened?" He laughed softly and lifted his arm slightly.

"I got shot, you too. Thought you were going to bleed out for a while there, girl."

"What about… " she shot Jethro a look and Mike cleared his throat.

"I told him everything. Kind of had to when we both got taken out."

"Oh, he told me everything alright." The sudden switch from concern to anger was shocking, but not entirely unexpected. She took a deep breath and looked back at him, may as well get it over with. "Why didn't you say something Jen? Why is she still alive?"

"I just couldn't do it." she replied sadly. It just seemed to make him angrier.

"The time to tell me was 9 years ago! I could have taken her out for you! We could've tracked her before confirming the other kills! Did you just think you could kill her yourself and no one need know?"

"I hoped so; I didn't want anyone else to get hurt."

"Decker is dead, Jen! How did he even know she was alive when I didn't?"

"I didn't want you to be involved, Jethro. It's you she wants!" She couldn't believe that he wasn't getting the point. She had wanted to protect him; she always wanted to protect him. She'd been given the opportunity to do so and she had jumped at it. She would have happily died to shield him from Svetlana's wrath.

"Hey!! The nurse is here." A thoroughly annoyed Mike pointed to the woman showing her ID to the detail at the door. "Probie I suggest you leave, go cool off for a bit." Jethro gave him a hard look but Franks wasn't going to back down. "Some place _else_."

Gibbs turned and walked quickly away, passing the nurse on his way out. "I'll get some stuff from your house for you." He shouted to Jen over his shoulder as an afterthought.

"Well, I figured he would've been a bit more civil-"

"No, it's my fault; I should've been straight with him. Back then, back when _we_ mattered."

"Remember, you're still young." He gave her a significant look and she gave him a small smile in return. She knew what he was talking about. The nurse approached Jenny and started checking her over, giving her plenty of time to think back to conversation they had had in the diner, when they had decided to tell a few truths.

*- Flashback -*

"_I never said thanks." Jen looked over at Mike and he waved her off._

"_Thank me later."_

"_When I first heard that Decker died of a heart attack, I was relieved." Mike gave her a strange look, somewhere between amused and confused. _

"_Gibbs did say you were complicated." She gave him a small smile and clarified what she meant._

"_Relieved because I always knew that there was a chance this could come back to haunt us. And it's my fault. I made some choices I'm not particularly proud of."_

"_We all have."_

"_Even Gibbs?"_

"_He let you go." She met his eyes for a second and then had to look away. Another choice now, let him think it was Gibbs' fault and take her love to the grave or tell the truth. She made her decision and looked at her hands._

"_No" she sighed "he didn't. He didn't fit in to my five point plan."_

"_Back to choices. You made your bed."_

"_What if I don't want to sleep in it?" she knew her voice sounded gloomy but she couldn't keep up the confident façade forever._

"_Gibbs know?"_

"_Would it make a difference?"_

"_He came back didn't he?" It was a not too gentle nudge so she dejectedly replied with what she thought was another truth._

"_Came back for the job."_

"_Yeah, that would explain all the conversations we had on my boat. You know, about the job." She looked back at him, the stirrings of hope in her heart. "You're still young; you got plenty of time to make it right." She smiled; she might try to make it right, if they made it out of this situation alive. _

*- End of Flashback -*

"I know, Mike, I'm trying." The nurse gave them both some pain killers and then excused herself. Jenny found herself feeling drowsy and a glance at Franks told her he was feeling the same.

"Well, when I thought about sleeping with a beautiful woman, this wasn't what I had in mind." Mike's voice was slurring slightly, obviously the nurse had given them both a high dose. She couldn't let him have the last word though.

"You _thought_ about it?"

"Who said it was you?" They both laughed until the medication took over, and they slipped in to unconscious.


	10. Chapter 10

A.N.: Many thanks to everyone who has reviewed! Thanks also to everyone who put me or this story on alert or favourites. You keep me writing! I know I went in to great detail about the contents of her drawers but I thought a man would take more notice of it, lol. I hope I haven't offended any male readers! Since the opinions on Vance were pretty much tied (one for good, one for bad and two for neither) I decided that I would just see how his character turned out. Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Gibbs stormed out of the hospital and into his car angrily. He hadn't meant to shout at her as soon as she woke up but really she should have told him earlier, not when the people around him where being killed and injured. He sighed; Jenny was no longer his primary concern, she was awake and protected. Svetlana however was still at large. He didn't know what lengths she might go to, to kill her now, but he had to believe that if she realised Jenny was still alive, she would try again. He couldn't allow that. So he needed to make sure that she didn't find out. He fingered the phone in his pocket, wondering if he was going about this the right way. Lack of options said yes, but what he was doing could cost him his job, especially with Vance in charge, or his life, but if he did nothing would he be able to live with the outcome? She would find him, of that he had no doubt and possibly Jenny too. He had to pretend her last attempt on Jenny had been successful, to divert her attention to him and only him so he could end this once and for all.

He started the car and drove to Jenny's Georgetown house. The trip was quick; his 'normally risky' speed being upped to 'insanely risky'. He thanked his familiarity with the police patrols for letting him get all the way from the hospital to Jenny's house without being stopped. He parked in the drive and then walked to the front door. He reached for the handle, then realised he hadn't asked her for a key. He sighed and then picked the lock, hoping none of the nosy neighbours would call the police on him. The door swung open and he stepped in to the darkened house, gently closing the door behind him. He reached over to the light switch, flicking the light on so he could see. He looked around, the shadows looked oppressive, it was almost like the house knew he'd had an argument with Jenny and was trying it's best to make him feel unwelcome. It worked. He walked quickly up the stairs and along the hallway to Jen's bedroom, flicking on lights as he went, hoping she kept a large enough bag for stuff like overnight visits. He didn't want to have to shove it all in a black bag.

He opened her bedroom door and walked in, taking in his surroundings. The room was very feminine, the only one in the house that was. She really only personalised this room, the rest of the house holding memories too precious to risk ruining by redecorating. He certainly understood that. The large double bed dominated the space, with a large walk in wardrobe taking up the wall facing it. Expensive satin sheets in a soft wine-red colour covered the bed invitingly. He walked to the wardrobe and looked through it, finding a travel bag in the back and a few short nightgowns but so far he couldn't see any pyjamas. He gave up and just grabbed some slacks and a few strap tops and tank tops, knowing she'd choose which she wanted later. He closed it gently and went to search the chest of drawers by the bed.

In the top drawer he found bras in lots of different styles and colours. He lifted up an emerald green silk one he remembered vividly from Paris. He had decided to buy her something one day and had got her this, she had been only too happy to model for him later. He smiled; the colour had brought out her eyes beautifully. He reluctantly put it back in the drawer; she was going to be in bed for most of her stay so she wouldn't need any bras. The second drawer held underwear, most were the second half of a bra and panty set, the former half in the drawer above, some were just solitary buys. There was a large mix of lace, satin, silk, cotton, and polyester. He stared in amazement at the tiny thongs and briefs. She even had some cute little shorts. He spotted the second half of the green Paris underwear, his cheeks burned as he lifted the silk green thong. Good times, _lots_ of good times. _Stop it! You're supposed to be angry with her!_ He put it back in the drawer and sat back trying to think sensibly. _If I was a woman, what would I be comfortable wearing in hospital?_ After much deliberation he picked the shorts and some of the briefs, stuffing them in the bag. The bottom drawer held fluffy socks, knee-highs, hold ups and some still wrapped stockings. He grabbed some of the socks and put them in the bag. _No need to give Mike a coronary,_ he thought laughing quietly.

He wandered over to her vanity and grabbed her hair brush and tipped her makeup in a small zip bag he found in one of the vanity drawers. He'd never hear the end of it if he forgot her makeup. He tossed the bag on the bed and wandered in to the bathroom. Toiletries, she'd need some of those. He grabbed a handful of those little tampons, _just in case, I'm not coming back for these things later_, and picked up her tooth brush and toothpaste and his favourite of all her shampoo and body wash. He shoved it all on the bed, looking over it all to make sure she had everything she would need, then shoved everything in the travel bag and sighed in relief that the ordeal was over.

"If she wants anything else she can call Noemi." He grumbled to himself, tossing the bag over his shoulder and walking out of her room. He wandered down the stairs, flicking the lights back off and then stopped at the bottom of the stairs when he felt the phone in his pocket vibrate. He dropped the bag on the floor and brought the phone out so he could see the caller ID. It wasn't recognised but he had a sneaking suspicion he knew who was calling him.

"Yeah?"

"_Agent Gibbs, you have some explaining to do._" Assistant Director Leon Vance spoke on the other end of the cell. "_Just what do you think you are doing taking evidence away from NCIS?_"

"Ending it."

"_You know who the woman is?_"

"Svetlana Chernitskaya." He heard his team repeating the name he gave them in the background and smiled. No matter how much they said they hated desk work, they were still excellent at it. He picked up the travel bag and walked in to the dark study.

"_Is she the one sending hired men after Director Shepard? What does she want?_"

"Yes and me." He answered both questions simply, seating himself at Jenny's desk and flicking on the desk lamp.

"_Gibbs, come back to NCIS-_" Just then the phone vibrated again and Jethro looked at the ID. Natasha.

"I'm going to have to put you on hold Leon, got another call."

"_No, Gibbs-_" Leon's exasperated voice was cut off and Gibbs readied himself to answer the other call.

"Hello?"

"_Who is this?_" A cold female voice asked impatiently.

"Does it matter? I have what you want."

"_Where is Abram?_" Her voice became suspicious.

"Dead." He answered her casually, secretly very happy to tell her this.

"_Who are you?_" Her voice was colder, the tone telling him he wouldn't get anywhere else without answering her question. He smiled.

"Mr. Oshimaida."

----

Leon Vance paced irately. Gibbs just couldn't go about anything the right way; he had to just disappear with evidence and expect to have no repercussions. He fiddled with the tooth pick in his mouth nervously. Chain of evidence was blasted to hell the moment Gibbs had taken the cell phone out of the evidence bag. It wouldn't stand up in court and if the owner of the cell had any family, they would be well within their rights to sue NCIS for mistreating or even stealing their relatives' possessions. He stopped pacing and glared at Gibbs' team. They were no help to him; they seemed to think he was their enemy. He shook his head, wondering how Jenny had stayed Director so long in the face of such hostility. It wasn't good for the agency if they reacted this way whenever Gibbs was challenged. They needed to learn that they were part of a larger team then just them. The whole agency ran on cooperation and they were holding back that cooperation out of a misguided sense of loyalty. Gibbs wasn't doing them any favours by encouraging them to react this way. He smiled a little as he thought about how to solve this problem. They were all great at their jobs, but they could be better serving the agency in different departments. They would thank him later when their experiences under different leaderships helped them further their careers. He briefly looked at the two assigned as the Directors' protection during her stay in LA. He scowled, thinking how royally they had failed at that. Punishment was the only way to deal with them, unfortunately.

"Agent McGee, where is the cell phone located exactly?"

"The Director's house, boss- sir-" McGee stuttered uncomfortably.

"Right." He cut off the young Agents' stumbling voice, slightly peeved that he had such trouble answering him and then dialled the number of the dead man's cell, waiting for Gibbs to pick up the phone.

"_Yeah?_"

"Agent Gibbs, you have some explaining to do. Just what do you think you are doing taking evidence away from NCIS?"

"_Ending it._" Leon suppressed the urge to sigh dramatically.

_Of course, Gibbs __**would**__ be running off on some sort of personal mission. _"You know who the woman is?"

"_Svetlana Chernitskaya._"

"Svetlana Chernitskaya." Tony spoke up suddenly, repeating the name as he typed it in his computer, bringing up the information in the database about this Svetlana. "She was the handler of international spy Anatoly Zukov, both of whom disappeared in 1999."

"Is she the one sending hired men after Director Shepard? What does she want?"

"_Yes and me._"

"Gibbs, come back to NCIS-"

"_I'm going to have to put you on hold Leon, got another call._"

"No, Gibbs-" Leon exasperatedly nearly shouted down the phone at him then stopped in amused shock. _He put me on hold! _He gave the phone a dirty look as it started playing music at him, putting it on speaker when the team asked what he was hearing.

"A waltz. Hungarian dance no.5 by Johannes Brahms." He saw them try not to laugh and his anger came back full force. They found Gibbs' behaviour amusing! They didn't see how inexcusable this was! That was it, the straw that broke the camel's back. They wouldn't cause or exacerbate this much trouble separately. He shook his head to clear it. He would think about this later, right now Gibbs might be in trouble. He'd said he had another call coming in. The only other person likely to call that cell was Natasha/Svetlana or whoever she really was. Unforgivable behaviour or not, he couldn't stand by and let one of his agents get themselves injured or worse, killed. And if he was really honest with himself, he was worried about Gibbs. He'd been part of his team too, back in the day. He had looked up to and respected him, lived by his rules and looked out for the team above everything else. Then he had transferred and realised that while what Gibbs was teaching was ok during a case, it bordered on insubordination at any other time. That was when he had lost his admiration for him, turning it in to a professional respect that couldn't interfere with his job. He had purposely forgotten most of his rules and kept distance between himself and his colleagues and he had soared up the ranks.

He galvanised himself in to action, walking purposely to the elevator and choosing the garage. He fiddled with his toothpick as he waited for the elevator to open, then practically sprinted to his car as soon as they opened. He unlocked his car and sped away from the navy yard, stopping for the gate guard to let him out, and then speeding through the streets, hoping he wouldn't be too late. He had a bad feeling about this. As he was driving to Jenny Shepard's house, he thought back to that day when he had been acting Director to investigate the death of Rene Benoit. He had confined Gibbs' team to the evidence garage and had gone down to lay the law. He thought about what he had said to Gibbs and his reply.

"_I've never been comfortable with intimacy between management and staff myself."_

"_Me either."_

Well, Gibbs might not be intimate with her but he had an obvious weakness for his Director that could just be the death of him.

_I decided that since Abram had a different phone to Viggo, he would have a different 'hold' tune. :)_


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Gibbs sighed and pulled out his gun, placing it in front of him on Jenny's desk, then shuffled the papers around, looking for something to pass the time until Svetlana found him, while trying not to mess up the order that she had them in. If there even _was_ an order to the pile, which he began to doubt as he skim read some of the pages. He had just about given up when he pulled out an almost blank piece of fancy paper with just _Dear Jethro_ on it in her familiar, elegant script. He stared at the paper thoughtfully, wondering what she was going to say and why? He remembered the last letter she had written to him, the dread he had felt when he found it in her coat pocket, knowing that she wasn't going to be waiting for him to return with her coat, that she was already gone and the pain when his suspicions were confirmed. Had she been meaning to tell him she wasn't coming back from LA? Alarmed at his train of thought, it suddenly hit him, leaving him almost winded; if she had died, all she would have left him was an unfinished letter, well, a not-even-started letter really, that said _nothing_. Had she already known that Svetlana was after her _before_ the funeral? Was she trying to say goodbye? Why had she even begun a letter to him? She saw him every day; she could have just spoken to him. He carefully folded the paper, swallowing past the lump in his throat and put it in his pocket, promising himself he'd ask her about it later, and this time _he_ wouldn't take no for an answer. Standing up, he moved over to the liquor cabinet and lifted one of Jen's decanters of Bourbon from a shelf, taking off the stopper and pouring himself a generous amount. As he did so he felt a presence in the room with him and smiled.

"Hello Svetlana. You made good time from LA." He turned around, Bourbon in hand and his smile faltered a little.

"Mr. Oshimaida… Agent Gibbs… Did you expect me to come alone?" The smile on her face was predatory and hungry for blood and something more. Something he recognised from his own face long ago: revenge. She gestured to the two men at her side, her smile widening. "I am not foolish enough to come to the house of my executioner unaided." Gibbs mentally winced. His great idea suddenly didn't look so great anymore.

----

Assistant Director Leon Vance drove through the Georgetown roads as fast as the speed limit allowed him, wondering just how he had managed to get mixed up in Gibbs' personal, therefore dangerous, business so quickly. Gibbs must've turned off Abram's phone after putting him on hold so he couldn't be disturbed. _More like accused of dereliction of duty_, after all, his phone _was_ off so he _couldn't_ know that Vance was calling him. He chuckled to himself, thinking about how ridiculous he was being. Gibbs could handle himself; he was over reacting. Just because Gibbs put him on hold didn't mean he was about to get assassinated or even that Svetlana was in DC, he just wanted to make sure he was handling the situation with Jenny's impending death. He'd get to Jenny's house and find Gibbs drowning himself in her Bourbon, like he used to when a case got too close to him, though he had usually found him in his basement.

Especially after Stephanie left him, he had been there for that. He had been on team Gibbs for a few months when the divorce had happened and then been transferred a few months after that. The case for Boone had been a nasty one and Gibbs had focussed solely on it, not even acknowledging Leon for at least a week until he realised he had a new probie following him around. He hadn't even had the chance to prove himself as Gibbs had found the guy and got a confession from him soon after he arrived. It had been the last straw for Stephanie though and the first anyone, even Gibbs, knew about the divorce was when the papers were delivered to him at work. Apparently, she had realised that he wasn't coming home to her, not really, just resting in the house until the next breakthrough came along.

Leon felt bad for him, he really did. None of his marriages worked out, he wasn't going anywhere in his career and so far he had no children either, whereas Vance had a long, successful and happy marriage under his belt and two beautiful children and he was the Assistant Director. Soon to be Director, if what he heard about Jenny's injuries was any indication. He swelled a little with pride and pushed the speed a little more. He'd rescue Gibbs from the bottom of his Bourbon and then get the team chasing down Svetlana. He tried to ignore the really bad feeling that was festering in his gut. _Damn you Gibbs!_

----

"I have waited so long for this!" Svetlana whispered viciously, circling around Jethro, gun raised and pointed in his direction and tears in her eyes. This was it. She would finally be able to kill the man responsible for destroying her life. She was almost giddy with relief, but seeing him now reminded her of the night she had realised she had nothing left, and the young woman who was supposed to kill her couldn't even offer her that relief from the pain.

"Why now?" He asked slowly.

"It has taken until now to find you, and I needed to be prepared." She gestured to the men she had brought with her, all that was left of the small force she had hired.

"Why bother?" He shrugged a little as he said it, as if it didn't really matter to him. Maybe it didn't, he probably made his career devastating innocent people. She saw his eyes flicker to the desk and followed his gaze. His gun lay on the desk, too far for him to reach if they fired at him. Bolstered by the knowledge he was unarmed, she lowered her gun a little, hoping he would make a move for it so she could enjoy the moment just that little bit more.

"_You_ killed Anatoly!" she hissed at him, the tears finally escaping her eyes, running down her cheeks.

"What was he to you?"

"_**Everything**_." She cocked her gun and aimed it at his heart. Her intention of drawing it out vanishing as the agony of Anatoly's death washed over her once more. "Now you should know how I feel, losing someone that means so much… did you get to her room before Abram killed her? Or were you too late to watch?" She smiled again and brushed away her tears, dropping her gaze for a moment and then she froze. At the side of the desk was a stuffed feminine travel bag. The shock she felt went straight through her and she lifted her gaze to him, hatred filling her. "She _survived?!_ Abram… Abram failed…" She watched him look down at the bag and close his eyes briefly at his stupidity. She put both hands on her gun to steady it, watching as her hired guns also raised theirs, and squeezed the trigger.

----

Vance finally turned on to the street where Jenny's house was and he sighed in relief. _Best get this over with_. He drove along the quiet road up to her house and parked behind another car, a silver one. _Strange, Gibbs' car is on the driveway, who does this belong to? _He gazed out across the street at the house, noticing lights on in the back of the house, causing a dull glow to emanate from the door windows. He got out of his car slowly and checked his weapon, unlocking the safety. He bent low and ran over to the door. It was slightly ajar. Hoping against hope that the door didn't squeak, he gently pushed it open a little and slipped inside the house in to the entranceway. As soon as he entered he heard voices coming from the room at the end of the hall and thanked god for his cautious approach. He pushed the door back ajar behind him and crept slowly along the hallway. The scene that met his eyes was far from what he was expecting. Gibbs was standing by a liquor cabinet, in what looked like a study, with a drink in his hand. _At least one of my expectations was spot on_, Leon thought wryly. In the room with Gibbs were two big, mean looking men and a woman, who he recognised from the airport footage and Tony's search: Svetlana Chernitskaya. He leaned closer to the doorway to listen to what they were saying.

"She survived?! Abram… Abram failed…" Leon watched as she lifted her weapon to fire and the men with her followed her lead. This was it; he had one shot to distract them. He stepped out slightly to get a better shot and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"NCIS! Drop your weapons!"

Sometimes Leon cursed his training. This was one of those times as all three armed assailants turned to him and opened fire.

----

Gibbs saw Leon peek around the doorway of the Study and take stock of the situation, then disappear again. He was careful not to look towards Leon's position in case one of the men realised someone else was there. He stoically stared in to Svetlana's eyes, waiting to see what happened. She was wavering, unsure whether to kill him, or maybe she couldn't. Her men wouldn't shoot unless she did, but if he moved for his weapon, she would not hesitate to take him out. _Come on Leon!_

"NCIS! Drop your weapons!" Vance's voice rang out and all three turned on the spot towards the sound. Gibbs flung himself towards Jenny's desk and snatched up his gun. He turned and shot the man closest to him, putting three bullets in him, two in the heart and one in the head, making sure he wouldn't get up. Vance took cover further down the hall, diving through the doorway leading to the kitchen as Svetlana and the last mercenary opened fire at him, the bullets hitting the walls and the side table, shattering the vases and splintering the wood. The other man grabbed Svetlana and pushed her down the hall as he turned to shoot Gibbs, who took cover behind the desk. _So, they were her protection, not her assassins_. Jethro peeked over the desk to get a shot just a he saw Svetlana being pushed out the door by her protector, who let off another few rounds in Gibbs' direction. Jethro dived out from behind the desk and circled around the room towards the door and looked around it. The man shot at him again but this time his bullet went wide as he let out a howl of pain and slumped to the ground. Leon emerged from the kitchen area, gun out and blood trickling down his leg as he finished off the last hireling. He turned to Gibbs and gave him a once over.

"You hit?"

"No. You?"

"Bullet grazed my leg, nothing I can't handle." Gibbs almost grinned as he retrieved the travel bag and thought about how far Leon had really come, from the computer geek probie who couldn't shoot at someone without having a mini panic attack, to the battle hardened Assistant Director who did what he needed to do and never asked questions. The sound of screeching tires met their ears and they raced out of the door to see Svetlana driving away in the silver car. They ran to Gibbs' car only to see one of the tires had been punctured by a stray bullet.

"We'll take my car, and I'm driving." Leon grinned. Gibbs shrugged and pushed past him to the car and got in the driver's side, tossing the bag on to the back seat. He watched Leon, amused as he shook his head and demanded he move over. Jethro started the engine and looked up smugly as Leon began frantically searching his pockets finding nothing. He looked up at Gibbs in disbelief before sprinting to the passenger side. "You picked my pocket?" he shook his head again as he buckled up. "Any idea where she's headed?"

"Oh yeah." Jethro replied, anxiety filling him up as he remembered the look on her face when she realised Abram had failed. He sped along the roads, hoping to get to Bethesda before Svetlana did.


	12. Chapter 12

A.N.: Special thanks to my sister for helping me out with this chapter. Nearly all of the parts with physical pain in are from her sick and twisted mind, which is why I love her! As always, thanks to everyone that has and will review, you guys (and my afore-mentioned sister) keep me writing!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Svetlana raced through the dark streets as fast as she could, her tears of rage blurring the road ahead. All of her money had been wasted on the hit men who had failed to do anything right! Gibbs was chasing her and Jenny was still alive! _How could this have happened? First Viggo, then Abram… just how many lives did the bitch have?!_ She pushed harder on the accelerator in her anger and gritted her teeth, the tears flowing faster as hopelessness overcame her. All of her plans lay in ruins, her goal of the last nine years was still unattainable and she knew instinctively that she would not survive the night. She had had a glimpse of how capable Gibbs was at the LA hospital, she should have known he would have had back up, and she knew how the night would end. Looking back over her life since Anatoly had been ripped from her, she realised that perhaps this was better; making Gibbs live his life without his soul mate would be punishment enough. She could certainly attest to the pain being debilitating. She was going to complete one aspect of her plan before Gibbs killed her though, even if it was her last act on this earth, she _would_ kill Jenny, maybe then she could die on her own terms and at last join Anatoly in relative peace. She looked in to her rear-view mirror and saw Gibbs and the other man from the house in a car giving chase_. That's it, _she smiled coldly,_ follow me Oshimaida, and I shall show you a world of torment_.

It took a matter of minutes for her to arrive at the hospital and she abandoned her car out front. It wasn't like she was going to walk away from this so why bother parking for a getaway? She sprinted up to the doors, hearing the screeching of tires as she disappeared through them, the car containing Gibbs and the other man rounding the corner and speeding towards hers. She turned and walked briskly around the hospital, looking for the tell-tale security guys posted guard outside the doors. She spotted them almost immediately and crept along the corridor, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. Luck was with her it seemed, as one of the guards suddenly walked away from his post towards the restrooms. Only one man left to take out, no problem for her. She smiled and walked confidently forwards, only to almost laugh out loud as the last guard struck up a flirtatious conversation with a passing young nurse. Svetlana's heart jumped into her throat as she slipped in to the room completely unnoticed, her objective was now within her grasp and she had no intention of failing. Death didn't worry her, so they couldn't stop her.

She took a moment to look around, noticing two beds occupied with sleeping figures, rather than one. The bed closest to her held a man and the other held Jenny, her distinctive red hair giving her away. She had a limited amount of time alone with them, so she decided to make the most of it. She grinned cruelly as a thought came to her mind. _Why not wake them up together?_ She moved to the bed occupied by the old man and took his hand in hers; she looked over to Jenny's bed as she did so, waiting to see her reaction, to savour it. She held his fingers in her other hand and put pressure on his hand to hold it steady. Then she pulled his fingers sharply backwards, feeling and hearing the snap as every digit broke. His cry of pain jolted both patients awake and she walked swiftly to Jenny's bedside, pulling out her gun as the injured and incapacitated red-head opened her shocked and concerned eyes, meeting Svetlana's and widening in fear as she recognised her. Oh yes, she was going to enjoy this.

"Hello Jenny, remember me?"

----

Jenny was peacefully floating around in her mind, the pain medication making her feel fuzzy and sluggish. The sting from her wounds had all but disappeared, only the occasional twinge coming as she shuffled around or breathed too deeply. She didn't want to sleep though; she wanted to track down Svetlana with Gibbs and take care of her mess before someone else got hurt. Her injuries prevented her from discharging herself and the fact that she would have to go to NCIS to find her gun, or any gun, put her off trying. At least Gibbs was still searching for the murdering Russian woman. He would find her, of that she had no doubt. Gibbs was the most capable Agent she had ever known, he wouldn't let her get away with her life. He would track her down and make sure she was dead. She still felt guilty though, and rightfully so. He was right, he always was. She _should_ have told him earlier. Even though she had spent the extra years in Europe trying to find her trail whenever she had a spare moment, she knew that if she had just told Jethro he would have helped her. He probably would have found Svetlana and killed her, then they could have continued their relationship with no worries of retribution and she would more than likely _still_ have attained the Directorship. _Well, they do say hindsight is 20/20._

Suddenly a loud scream of pain erupted in the air, jolting Jenny out of her fluffy mind and into consciousness. She snapped her eyes open and glanced around wildly, shocked and confused. Her question to Mike died on her lips when her eyes connected with those of the blonde woman who had haunted her dreams for years, as she walked quickly towards her, bringing a gun out from behind her back. Jenny felt sick as she realised that she couldn't do anything to save herself, the gunshot wounds effectively making her unable to move anything other than one arm, and then the fear took hold. She felt helpless and the drugs effectively stripped away all of her protective barriers, leaving her every thought and feeling obvious for anyone to read on her face.

"Hello Jenny, remember me?" Svetlana Chernitskaya asked, smiling viciously as she came to a stand next to her bed. Jenny panicked and took the only course of action open to her. She reached up behind her with her good arm and tried to press the emergency button, agony flooding through her hazy body as she felt her stitches and stomach muscles tear as she strained to reach it, blood seeping out of the wound and through the bandages. Svetlana grabbed her arm and twisted it back just too late as the alarm rang out.

----

Jethro couldn't believe what had happened. He had tried to lure Svetlana to him so he could kill her before she did any more damage, which had worked, but he hadn't counted on her bringing protection. Even then she probably would have stayed to the end of the fight if she hadn't noticed the travel bag he had packed for Jenny which he had forgotten about during his conversation with Vance over the phone. If only he had hidden it behind the desk, or left it upstairs, or put it in his car… well what's done is done. There was nothing he could do about it now. He pushed the car faster, casting an irritated and concerned glance at Leon beside him, irritated because he was chewing a toothpick, loudly, and concerned because he was bleeding. One of the bullets had grazed him during the fire fight and even though he knew it could have been much worse, the graze still worried him.

"Think you could stop chewing for a second, Leon?" Vance gave him a dirty look and continued to chew his pick and grip his seat as Gibbs sped through narrow gaps and oncoming traffic. "It's distracting."

"I've been in a car with you before, Gibbs; _nothing_ can distract you, not even a probie throwing up in the back seat."

"You shouldn't have eaten that kebab at lunch." Gibbs remembered that day perfectly, he had seen Leon eating the greasy food just before they were called out and had decided to teach him a valuable lesson about crime scene etiquette. Weak stomachs shouldn't eat oily food before seeing a body. He then made Leon clean his car afterwards. Lesson learned.

"I _should_ have taken the van." Gibbs half smiled at his companions remembered embarrassment, before becoming serious again when he spotted Svetlana's car ahead. She was driving fast and erratic, making taking over her impossible. He huffed angrily and tried to catch up to her, only for her to increase her speed, maintaining the distance between them. It was a long few minutes as they both sped along the roads at breakneck speeds before the hospital came in to view. Gibbs lost sight of her around a corner and then cursed his luck when he spotted her car abandoned out front. He parked next to her car and jumped out of the vehicle, running to the doors, Vance right behind him. They both paused as they got through the doors and looked around for her. Surely she didn't know what room Jenny was in? Not seeing her, Jethro began to panic a little, his gut was churning and Svetlana was nowhere to be seen. He sprinted along the corridor towards Jenny's room, hoping the security detail had already stopped her. He rounded the corner and saw one of the guards outside the door, the other missing.

"Maybe we missed her?" Vance spoke up next to him. He shook his head; his gut was telling him something wasn't right. "Don't assume, always double check, right?" Jethro looked at him surprised. "I never forgot the important ones, Gibbs."

"Good." They marched down the hall to the guard, reaching him just as a loud cry of pain erupted out of the room. They all turned to the door shocked and Gibbs rushed at it, just as an alarm went off. He threw it open and he and Vance hurried through it.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Mike Franks had known something was wrong; after being an NCIS agent for so long he had developed an extra sense to wake up when someone was near him, but this time he couldn't. He just didn't have the strength to fight the drugs that were keeping him too drowsy to wake up. When an unknown hand had gripped his, he knew something had gone terribly wrong with Jethro and he cursed his inability to be there for him. He shouldn't have let the nurse drug him; he should have discharged himself and backed him up. But it was too late now, and as the mysterious hand was joined by another, this one gripping his fingers, he knew what was going to happen next. He focused on his hand and waited for the pain, hoping to use it to help him break out of the fog of his unconscious mind. He didn't need to wait long, the person snapped his fingers back and Mike felt the pain flood his body, jolting him awake immediately, an embarrassingly loud cry of pain escaping him. His first reaction was to grip his broken fingers and as he did, he got his first real glimpse of the cause of the mess he had been drawn into. The blonde Russian woman had already left his bedside and moved to Jenny's, her use of his fingers obviously just a way to scare her. He gritted his teeth and tried to channel the pain in to action as he saw the murderess pull out a gun. He looked around for some kind of weapon, cursing his luck as he saw only the IV pole and the equipment used to monitor his heart and keep fluids in him. He ripped the saline bag off of his pole and tried to lift it. _Better than nothing_.

"Hello Jenny, remember me?" The soon to be skewered woman asked in a sickly sweet voice. He saw Jenny panic and reach up for the alarm button. _Smart thinking girl_, he thought as he realised he should have pushed his first, _damn drugs_. Svetlana grabbed and twisted her arm around in an effort to prevent her from hitting the button but was too late. Mike felt sick, knowing that there wasn't anything more that Jenny could do to help herself and death was holding a gun and staring her furiously in the face. The door burst open, letting Jethro and another man through it practically before it had opened all the way. Svetlana pushed her gun to Jenny's head and simply stood, watching them enter.

"If you shoot me, she dies too, I promise you." Mike had heard that tone of voice before; it was the tone of someone with nothing left to live for, and they were the most dangerous people to trap in a corner. They didn't play by anyone else's rules and made unpredictable decisions at the most inopportune times.

"Put the gun down and you can still walk away from this." The other man said, probably the Vance guy Ziva had told him about.

"The _hell_ she can!" Mike grumbled, annoyed that Vance was going to try negotiating with her. The hollow look in her eyes confirmed his suspicions about how this confrontation was going to end; quickly and with blood. Franks got out of his bed and tried to get a better grip of his pole and waited for his chance to do some damage of his own. No one was going to kill Jenny while he was around and he owed this sinister bitch some pain now too. Svetlana looked at him amused before carefully attempting to round Jenny's bed, trying to put it between her and the men in front of her. That was when all hell broke loose.

----

Svetlana savoured the moment; she had waited for this day for so long and this time it wouldn't slip through her fingers. As she approached the bed of the woman that had been too soft hearted to kill her, she smiled. The roles were reversed, now she was the one that held the gun, and she had hardened her heart a long time ago, so killing was not a problem for her. It was time to show her some of the pain that she had had to live with these nine, long years. Jenny was obviously terrified of her and she felt the satisfaction settle in her soul. Suddenly, Jenny reared up and attempted to push the alarm button behind her head, hitting it just before Svetlana could grab her hand. _That is not part of the plan!_ Enraged, she twisted the arm around, Jenny's gasp of pain soothing her impulse to end it quickly. She needed to see every long moment of her pain, and she needed to hear every second of it, a quick death would not do her revenge for Anatoly any justice. The door behind her burst open so she put her gun to the petrified woman's head and watched them enter, knowing they wouldn't try anything while her weapon was trained on her.

"If you shoot me, she dies too, I promise you." She _would_ make good on that promise, her last act would be to pull the trigger and the incapacitated Jenny couldn't do _anything_ to stop her. She glanced down at her, revelling in the absolute _power_ she had over her life, and saw a small red patch appearing through the covers over her stomach: blood. She was clearly trying not to let her see how much pain she was in and that small fact told her it was a lot. She felt tears in her eyes once more, this time due to the intense joy suffusing her body. She could almost feel the victory. Nothing that they did now mattered, because it felt as if she had already won.

"Put the gun down and you can still walk away from this." The annoying man Gibbs had brought as back up tried to convince her, but she had no intention of walking away. This was her last stand, and she was going to take as many of them as she could with her.

"The _hell_ she can!" the old man grumbled in her direction. She turned her gaze to him and smirked as she saw him struggle out of his bed, the pole dangling from his hands. _Well, the foolish old man is certainly determined_. She knew she was too vulnerable in the open where she currently was so she decided to try and move around the bed, putting Jenny between her and the men in front of her. From there she just might be able to take them all out before she died, which was a pleasant thought. Just as she started moving the men suddenly lunged at her.

----

The first thing Leon saw when he got through the door was the gun that Svetlana had put to Director Shepard's head and both he and Gibbs came to a sudden stand still. Vance's first instinct was to check over his superior and as he did so, he could see that Jenny was in serious pain, her eyes unguarded by the professional mask that all agents learned to develop as a probie, and strengthened as they progressed through their careers. He looked away, feeling like he was invading her privacy, and took stock of the threat in the room, the slightly unhinged Russian holding the gun. She didn't appear to be concerned about having no back up or the fact that she was outnumbered and he didn't like that, it made him nervous.

"If you shoot me, she dies too, I promise you." She glanced down at Jenny and seemed to become happier at the sight of her pain. Leon decided he had seen enough. His duty was to protect his fellow agents so he was going to do so; he decided he would try to talk her away from the Director.

"Put the gun down and you can still walk away from this." He tried to make his voice clear and strong but not arrogant, which usually caused criminals to try and shoot the cocky attitude out of him. He didn't like the change of atmosphere in the room as he said it though; she looked at him like she didn't care about living, about getting away from here after causing havoc. She seemed to watch him in distain, as if giving her a way out made him pathetic in her eyes and he felt a shiver of apprehension run down his spine.

"The _hell_ she can!" A man growled from the bed beside him, which he had thought was empty, and Leon chanced a surprised glance at who he assumed was Mike Franks, the retired NCIS agent that Director Shepard had asked to be her temporary partner during this ill-fated 'mission'. Franks was standing in front of his bed, holding his IV pole clumsily in his arms like a lance, seemingly waiting for the first chance to run her through with it. Leon mentally sighed; the old man was just going to get in the way if it came to a fight. He looked back at Svetlana as she seemed to rethink her position, and as soon as her gun left skin contact with Jenny, he leapt at her, sparing a thought for his family.

----

Gibbs didn't listen to anything that happened when he entered the room, his eyes drawn to and captured by Jenny's petrified and agonised gaze. She was perspiring and shaking in pain, the fear clear in her glistening eyes, the tears she was desperately trying not to show to Svetlana welling up, ready to overflow. He knew the feeling, when the drugs prevented you from holding back and covering up your emotions. She seemed to be trying to borrow his strength, to help her rebuild her barriers. He let her, hoping to draw on her presence to help him keep calm and not make any rash decisions, knowing the cost could be her life, and he drew great comfort from the fact that she was still breathing. Svetlana hadn't killed her yet, and she wasn't going to now that he was here.

He wouldn't let her down; he wouldn't fail her like he had failed Shannon and Kelly. He might not have been in the same country back then, but he was now and there was no way Svetlana was going to take her from him. Once bitten, twice shy, well losing Shannon and Kelly had been a monster bite, he wasn't going to let it happen again, not while he still had life in his body. Jenny wouldn't be just another regret, someone he watched die without ever showing how he truly felt about her, even after everything that had happened. He strengthened his resolve, deciding to make this quick. The first thing he needed to do was get the gun away from Jenny's head. His gaze snapped to Svetlana as she tried to move around the bed, to put more obstacles between them and her. He knew it was now or never.

Gibbs rushed forwards towards Svetlana, Leon at his side, and they both made a grab for one of her arms, Gibbs getting her gun arm and pulling it higher up towards the ceiling just as she squeezed the trigger, the bullet impacting mere centimetres above Jenny's head. Leon gripped her other arm so she couldn't hurt Jethro and tried to bring it behind her back to make her loosen her grip on her weapon, but she had other ideas. She brought her knee up and slammed it in to Leon's crotch, then punched his face as he doubled over in pain, sending him sprawling on the floor. She then used her free hand to grip Jethro's and push on the nerve there in a thumb tap, making his whole body freeze. She brought her other knee up into Gibbs' crotch and then hit him on the head with the butt of her gun, sending him to the floor next to Leon, allowing her to take aim at Jenny once more.

The way was clear for Mike to galvanise himself into action and he viciously shoved his pole into her abdomen, then as she curled over he swung it at her head, causing her to fall backwards on to Jenny's bed, she brought the gun back up pointing it at Franks and Leon staggered up from the floor and grabbed it, hitting her hand against the side of the bed to try and make her open her fingers but she had a death grip on it and emptied the clip, hoping to hit _something_. Gibbs recovered enough to stand up and grab her head, snapping her neck marine execution style, and then he let her lifeless body fall to the ground.

They all staggered over to Jenny's bed and slumped on it, gasping from the ordeal and Gibbs wiped away the small trickle of blood from his head, embracing Jenny, pressing a kiss to her forehead and trying to calm her down as she sobbed in his arms. It felt so good to hold her again, even if he couldn't wrap his arms around her for fear of doing more damage and she could only cling to him with one hand, which she used to clutch the material of his jacket, to prevent him from moving away.

"What did I tell you about leaving those loose ends, probie?" Mike asked and Jethro rolled his eyes and then answered his 'boss'.

"Not to." Franks indicated Svetlana's body and scoffed.

"If that's how you remember what I taught you, I don't want to know what happens with the stuff you forgot."

They shared a laugh, needing the relief from the high stress situation and Mike tried to put the stuff back on his pole before the nurses came back. The last thing he needed was to be charged with damaging hospital equipment.

"They'll never know." He muttered, trying to straighten out one of the pipes leading from the bag, in to his arm using his thumb and his curled up fingers.

Gibbs pressed another kiss to Jenny's head as she quieted, the adrenaline no longer pumping around her body and making her hysterical. She was struggling to keep her eyes open, the injuries she had suffered taking their toll on her body and tiring her out. The pain was flooding her, the meds long since used up. Just as he was about to call out to the security guys to let the nurse in, he noticed that Leon's white shirt was staining red. He cursed under his breath as Vance slipped down the bed on to the floor, the smile freezing on his face.

"Leon? Crap! Call a doctor!" Gibbs jumped up from the bed and tried to put pressure on the wound, knocking Leon's hands away as he tried to help, the shock his body must have gone in to fading away and leaving him shaking violently from pain.

"**Can we get some **_**god-damn**_** doctors in here?!**" Mike bellowed, and the security guys allowed the waiting medical staff to stream in the door. The warm blood was seeping through Jethro's fingers and pooling on the floor beneath Vance, the sharp smell of iron filling his nostrils and he realised that one of his arteries must've been damaged; otherwise the blood would be flowing much slower. Gibbs didn't know what to do, but as he was pushed away from Vance, towards the back of the room, he was glad to not be feeling Leon's life literally slip through his fingers. He wasn't sure where he was supposed to go, he wanted to stay with Jenny but he didn't want to leave Leon to fend for himself. After all, it was his and Jenny's mess that had gotten Vance injured. Leon hadn't had to get involved; he could have stayed back at the office and written him up for removing evidence from NCIS. Gibbs was sure that if Vance hadn't come to back him up, he would have been killed at Jenny's house, in the surprise that Svetlana had set up for him. He owed Leon his life. His mind was made up for him as the nurses sedated Jenny and took her to theatre, leaving him with Mike, who was being set in plaster, and Leon.

He moved closer to Vance as the doctors peeled back his jacket to reveal five large holes all clustered around the lower part of his ribcage. Leon reached out and grasped Gibbs' jacket, the pain unbearable and sweat began beading on his face as he struggled to keep it together long enough to talk.

"G-guess I'm… n-not… going to see my… f-family again… huh?" Vance struggled to talk, his voice breaking as the agony ripped through him. "Tell… th-them… I l-love… them. T-tell my… f-family…"

"Sure you'll see them, Leon; you can tell them yourself, you've had worse than this." Jethro swallowed and put on his strongest façade, hoping to keep him awake long enough for the doctors to seal off some of the blood vessels before they could risk moving him. Vance gave him an amused glare.

"One… b-bullet Gibbs, in th-the arm."

"From the fuss you made it sounded like it was at least fifty!" Jethro chuckled, trying to keep the mood light. Vance tried to laugh too but he ended up choking on the blood pooling in his lungs and throat. The doctor's exchanged worried looks as they finished what they could and then lifted him on to Mike's bed to wheel him away.

"You'll be ok, Leon."

"You're… usually s-such a… good l-liar… Gibbs." Leon began to gasp, as if he couldn't catch his breath and then his eyes rolled back. Gibbs was made to step back as they took Leon away to surgery, leaving him in the room with the body of the vengeful woman that had tried to ruin his life and the blood of his colleague and friend on his hands. Mike gave him a reassuring smile.

"That kid is strong. He's got a lot to live for, he'll be fine. So will your Jenny." Jethro noticed the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. He was lying.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Gibbs stood in the middle of the room, staring at the blood on his hands and wondering what he could've done differently, what he should have done that would have spared Leon from being shot so many times at close range. It was his fault wasn't it? Or was it Jenny's fault? This whole mess stemmed from her mistake, a mistake that could have been avoided if she had just spoken with him! He shook his head, he couldn't blame Jenny for Vance's actions or his own, and quite frankly it was cowardly to blame her for _everything_ that had happened. He had made his own decisions, just like she had. A ghost of a smile graced his lips as the next thought came to his mind. _I had to do what was best for me_. He was rudely shaken from his reverie by Mike, who slapped him sharply on the back of the head.

"Wash your hands Probie; wearing his blood isn't going to improve his chances."

Gibbs nodded absently and moved to the long forgotten bowl of water by where Jenny's bed had been and began to rinse away the blood that was threatening to stain his hands. The sponge soaked up the blood and the water turned red accusingly, as if it was telling him that this could have all been avoided if he had just kept his gun in his hands while he had waited for Svetlana to meet him at Jenny's house. His old mentor took his elbow when he had finished and led him over to the bed that must've been brought in for Franks while he wasn't paying attention.

"Sit." Gibbs did as he was instructed and stared at the spot on the floor where Leon had laid, his blood pooling around him. "Don't look at it Probie." Jethro obediently diverted his gaze, looking at the hole in the wall from Svetlana's bullet, the one that had only just missed Jenny when he had grappled with her, pulling the gun up just in time. Guilt pervaded every cell in his body and he felt weighed down by it, the reminders were all around him and he felt choked. Any minute he expected to hear Kate's soft voice in his ear, whispering that it was his fault and that maybe, to save everyone else he should just kill himself.

*Whack!* Gibbs head shot forward as Mike slapped his head, this time with the hand that had the cast on, making a loud and satisfying clunk.

"Snap out of it probie! Wallowing in guilt and self pity is for the weak, and you are _not_ weak." Mike told him off forcefully, hoping to pull him out of the funk he had dropped in to. "Pull yourself together; you've got work to do!" Gibbs nodded and flipped open his 'borrowed' phone.

"Special Agent Tony-"

"DiNozzo!"

"Yes Boss?"

"Tell Ducky to come to Bethesda, I need him to pick up a body, then take McGee, Ziva and Palmer to the Director's house, there are two bodies there that need to be taken back to NCIS, preferably before the press get all over it. Ziva can stay there; I'll need someone to look after the house until the door can be replaced… and maybe a window." Gibbs added thoughtfully, wondering just how much damage they had actually done to the house since they hadn't exactly stayed to find out. "Oh and DiNozzo, grab me a jacket from mine." He hung up before Tony could ask any questions and sighed. Mike glanced around the room and then stood up.

"Come on, we'll get some fresh air." Gibbs stood and they walked out of the room, both glaring at the ineffective security detail posted outside the door as they passed them and then they walked through the corridors to the entrance. Gibbs moved swiftly in the darkness over to Leon's car and opened one of the rear passenger doors, reaching inside to pull something out. "You left something in there?"

Gibbs nodded and then lifted the travel bag that he had packed for Jenny out of the car and returned to stand by Mike's side. They inhaled the crisp, cool air for a while and stood watching the twinkling stars and the occasional aeroplane fly overhead, neither bothering to keep track of the passage of time. Eventually, Mike shivered as the chill night air reached him through his thin medical gown and Gibbs decided to take him back inside.

"I'm not going back in until you feel better, Probie."

"Ducky will go straight to your room; I need to go wait for him there." Gibbs reasoned and Mike reluctantly agreed, so they slowly wandered back to the room to wait for news about Jenny and Leon, and for Ducky to join them. Gibbs resisted the urge to kick Svetlana's body as they re-entered the room, the action being too disrespectful for even him, but the thought made him feel better.

----

Ducky walked through the hospital, smiling at the doctors and nurses that he passed on the way, recognising some of them from his other visits. He walked apprehensively towards the security detail; nervous about whom he was here to collect. Tony hadn't told him what had happened and he suspected that Jethro hadn't divulged that information to him. He took a deep breath to try and steel himself for what was to come and walked through the door, gasping in shock as he took in the scene. Blood was all over the floor in the middle of the room and smeared across to where he assumed the person had been lifted and taken away. A blonde female lay just to the side, her head at an odd angle and her eyes open wide and unseeing. Neither Jennifer nor Vance was anywhere to be seen. He turned to the only people in the room and walked quickly to them, taking in the blood soaked sleeves of the jacket that his friend was wearing and the cast on Franks' hand that hadn't been there the last time he had been here.

"Jennifer?" He asked Jethro, almost afraid to hear the answer. Gibbs looked down at his shirt and shook his head awkwardly, in what Ducky could only assume was guilty contentment.

"Leon." Ducky was shocked to say the least, the Assistant Director had never really been what he would describe as a friend, in fact, how he had acted in the small amount of time that he had been here had failed to endear him to the ME. He knew he shouldn't have judged him before he had gotten to know him, but he couldn't see the man putting himself in the firing line for someone else. "What happened here, Jethro?"

Ducky listened intently as Jethro and Mike each told their versions of the story, and he was stunned to hear about all of the damage the dead woman had caused before they had managed to kill her. He wasn't surprised to hear about her last stand and how capable she had become, people with nothing to lose and only one goal tended to use everything they had in them to try to complete their objective. This sometimes gave the appearance of super-human strength and it had obviously thrown them off.

"I'll try and find out what is going on, you just stay here." Ducky put his medical bag down and then walked swiftly out of the room and over to the nurses' station. She wasn't busy with anyone else so he walked straight up to her and introduced himself. "Hello my dear, I'm Dr. Donald Mallard. I'd like to speak to the doctor that is looking after Leon Vance and Jennifer Shepard." The nurse smiled at him and checked the computer to see which doctor was with which patient.

"Both patients share the same doctor; however he is in surgery at the moment. I'm afraid it may take some time before he is done but I'm sure he will come straight to you once he's out." Ducky nodded his thanks and then thought of something else.

"Could I request a gurney and a clean up in the Directors room? There is rather a lot of blood on the floor…"

"Of course Dr. Mallard, I'll put in the call right away."

"Thank you." Ducky walked back to Jethro and Mike and told them that he couldn't get any information until the patients were out of surgery, then he walked over to the body of the blonde female, who he assumed to be the Svetlana woman that Tony had told him of. She was beautiful, and apparently she was passionate about her work, given that she had taken on a new identity and become a successful business woman in just a few years. It was a shame that she had decided to throw away her life on a doomed crusade for revenge. He found it worrying that she had come to this; he could see now how much like Jennifer she was and he found it ironic that she should be hunting someone she resembled so much in personality. Jennifer had gotten her man. If Svetlana had succeeded, would she have carried on with her business under her new name like Jennifer had after Rene? Or would she have disappeared again? They would never know now, and he couldn't help but be glad.

A cleaner walked in and started to wash the blood off the floor and sanitise it and a nurse appeared at the door with a gurney. He thanked her for it and brought it next to the body, and then he lowered it to the ground and unzipped the body bag on top of it. He pulled his medical bag closer to him and then reached inside it for his liver probe. He pushed it in to her body and read the digital temperature that appeared and then worked out her time of death before removing the instrument and cleaning it down. It was merely a formality since he doubted anyone would care when she died, but he knew he needed to do it. You can't pick and choose your dead; so you treat them all with respect. He rearranged Svetlana's body and then looked up at Jethro.

"Could you help me get her in the bag, please?"

"With pleasure."

"Don't drop her, Jethro." Ducky admonished gently, hoping that the thought hadn't crossed his mind, and then sighing when Jethro seemed to lose his enthusiasm for helping when he heard him. They lifted her body and quickly put her in the bag, zipping it up and pulling the gurney back to standing position.

"I'll get her to autopsy as soon as Mr Palmer returns with the van."

"I don't care what you do with her, Duck; just get her out of my sight." Ducky shared an exasperated look with Mike and then looked at his phone to see if he had any of those text messages that Jimmy sometimes sends him. His inbox said he had one new message so he opened it up and rolled his eyes. It was in that text language that the young people seemed to like using nowadays and he couldn't make heads or tails of it.

"Gt d bods 2 autop. Bringin van 2u. Cya l8r" Ducky looked at the message in dismay and tried to decipher it by saying it out loud to himself, giving up after identifying 'bodies' and 'bringing'. He looked at his companions and realised his chances of getting them to read it to him where slim so he walked out in to the corridor to ask one of the young nurses if they could help him. He walked up to the lady he had spoken with earlier.

"Hello again my dear. I have a rather embarrassing problem. My assistant sent me a message but I can't read it. I was wondering if you could understand it any better than I." The young lady smiled at him and took the phone to look at the message.

"It says; 'got the bodies to autopsy. Bringing the van to you. See you later.'" She handed him back his phone and he chuckled in relief.

"I don't know why he didn't just say that. Thank you for your time."

"It's quite alright, Dr. Mallard." Ducky turned to go back in to the room when he saw Tony disappear in to it with a plastic bag. He shook his head a little and started towards the door when some doctors and nurses rounded the corner, wheeling a bed through the corridor to Mike and Jennifer's room. He apprehensively watched as they entered, wondering which had come out of surgery. He didn't wonder long as he saw Jethro rush over to the bed and touch the occupant. Obviously it was Jennifer. He had just decided to give them a moment before joining them when he heard a commotion in the waiting room.

-

Gibbs glanced up as he heard someone walk through the door. He looked up and saw Tony holding up a plastic bag and giving him a small smile as he looked around the room for Jenny, only to see Mike, Gibbs and a gurney. He saw Tony shoot a worried look between it and him and Gibbs decided to set him straight.

"Jenny and Leon are in surgery, that-" he indicated the body bag with a dismissive wave of his hand "-is Svetlana."

"Got it boss. Brought you a clean suit, I thought just picking up a jacket would throw off your colour coordination." He grinned cheekily and held out the bag. Gibbs snatched it from his hands and gave him a mock-glare, and then put the bag on the bed, thinking he may as well get changed when Jenny and Leon got back from surgery. There was no way he was going to be absent when the doctor came by; he wanted to speak with him.

Jethro looked up quickly as he heard a bed being pushed in to the room. The red hair splayed across the pillows told him that it was Jenny, and while Tony dodged out of the way by going to stand by the gurney, he stood allowing them to place the bed back where it had been, before rushing over to it to touch her. He calmed instantly, relief flooding his body when he felt the warm skin of her hand under his finger tips and he felt light headed. He had been thinking the worst since she had been taken to surgery, but he should've known that she would survive; she was too stubborn to die. He looked at the doctor, who smiled at him.

"Miss Shepard is going to be fine. We repaired the wound in her stomach and re-stitched it. Hopefully she will be staying still from now on though; otherwise we will be unnecessarily creating more scar tissue by sewing her up time after time."

"Oh she'll be staying still, I can guarantee you that." He grinned happily and then sobered as he thought about Leon. He turned to the doctor again and straightened to speak to him eye to eye. "Leon Vance?" The doctor looked down for a second and in that moment Jethro's stomach plummeted, he knew what he was going to say before he said it.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you that Mr. Vance didn't survive. The damage the bullets did to his lung and to his arteries was too extensive and severe to repair. We were only just able to bring him back a few times after he crashed on the table and his heart gave out after arresting for the third time. I'm very sorry. Is there a next of kin that needs to be informed?"

"He has a wife… and two children over in San Diego."Gibbs swallowed hard at the thought of informing Leon's wife and children that he was dead. That they would never see him again and he wouldn't ever be coming home. He felt the resurgence of guilt in his chest and he sat down heavily on to the edge of Jenny's bed. Leon had died to save them, he was so proud of him to have come so far, from the awkward geek to the competent investigator and leader, willing to die for his Agents. Gibbs shook his head slowly; he was disgusted with himself because all he could think about was how glad he was that Jenny hadn't left him. Ducky walked in a few moments later.

"The doctor told me. How are you Jethro?" Gibbs could only shrug and shake his head. "Well I didn't want to tell you but the press is congregating in the waiting room, apparently someone told them about the gun shots and that we were here. What do you want to do?"

"Give them a story." Jethro quickly changed his clothes to the blood free ones that Tony had brought him and squared his shoulders, walking out the door and down the corridor towards the rabble of reporters in the waiting room, hungry for information. He would give Leon the best send off he could, he owed him that at least.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

"_It was revealed today that the Director of NCIS, Jennifer Shepard, was hospitalised after attending the funeral of one of her Agents over in LA. The agent that had died, a William Decker, had been presumed to have died of a heart attack, however after an almost successful attempt was made on the life of Director Shepard and a retired NCIS agent, whose name is being withheld for security reasons, his cause of death was investigated more thoroughly and turned out to be poison, which had caused cardiac arrest. The murderer, Svetlana Chernitskaya, a Russian national who was targeting NCIS Agents, was chased through the streets of Georgetown to Bethesda hospital, after she tried and failed to take out another agent who was looking after the Director's house. She was finally neutralised last night when she made another attempt on the Director of NCIS as she lay in her hospital bed, recovering from the first failed attempt. _

_The Agent who made the killing blow to the woman, saving the life of his Director, was the Assistant Director, Leon Vance, who unfortunately died from his grievous injuries early this morning. An Agent that knew him well said 'Leon always gave his all to his colleagues and his job. His death is a terrible blow to all of NCIS. He will be deeply missed and our thoughts are with his family at this time.' He will be laid to rest at Arlington cemetery next week and he will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his 'especially meritorious contribution to the security of the United States'."_

Gibbs switched off the hospital TV and put the remote down next to Jenny on the side table. The press was desperate to get in to Jenny's room and get exclusive pictures of her injuries so Gibbs had told Tony and Ziva to stand guard at the door. He had called Leon's wife to tell her the bad news just after giving the cover story to the press. It had been one of the most difficult calls of his life. She had cried over the phone and begged him not to say what she knew he must be calling for but he'd had to. She had thanked him for telling her in the end but he could hear the silent accusation in her voice of 'Why didn't you save him?'

Jenny caught his eye, shooting him a watery smile and then wiping away a tear using her good arm. She had been told about Leon's death a few moments before he had shown her the news report and while she hadn't known Vance that well, she had supported Jethro's recommendation of the Medal that had been awarded to Kate. This was only the second time that she had awoken after being re-stitched and she was still on the strong pain medication and would be for at least two weeks, until her wounds had healed over enough to not be in danger of tearing open again at the least movement. He had been deferring the duty of cleaning and redressing her wounds to the nurse as he didn't know where he stood with her or how welcome his help would be and he didn't want to make her angry, worried about the damage she could do to herself if she tried to throw something heavy at him.

They needed to have a long talk though, and he tried not to bring it up while she couldn't argue back but it was difficult. He wanted to rant and rave at her for what she had done, but he wanted to hold her and not let go too. She was taking Leon's death hard, not because she had liked him, she hadn't, but because he had died finishing something she couldn't. She blamed herself for what had happened and Jethro loathed himself, because he still couldn't find it in him to tell her it wasn't her fault. Every tear she cried was like a knife to his conscience and sooner or later he would snap. He watched her now, as she regained control of her emotions so she could stop the tears and give him a moment's reprieve to latch on to something else. She unknowingly gave him an opening too good to refuse when she decided to talk to him.

"I have to attend his funeral." Gibbs gave her a disapproving glare.

"Well you can't." she bristled at his tone.

"Why not? I'm the Director; I have to go to all of the funerals of my Agents. It'll be expected in this case because he died saving me!" He rolled his eyes; the 'I'm the Director' speech wasn't going to help her this time.

"You can't even bend because of the strain it'll put on the stitches, how do you think you'll get there? Do you want your bed wheeled down?" she gave him a dirty look and shook her head.

"Don't be ridiculous Jethro; I'm sure I'll survive a few hours in a chair."

"Your doctor says you won't," He wasn't about to back down on this one, she was being unreasonable and he would make her see it. "And I think that since he is the expert on this, I'm going to back his opinion."

Jenny huffed angrily and turned her head away from him, since she couldn't cross her arms petulantly, and they fell into a charged silence, the energy from their argument circling, waiting for another round. Eventually it became too much and one of them had to talk, Jenny breaking first.

"So, what have you been doing?"

"Before or after Svetlana?" Hurt flashed across her features at his dig, and he felt his conscience give him what-for, the twinges of self hate coming back to see him.

"Before." He squashed the twinges into a dark corner of his mind. She was asking, so he was going to tell her, and get to the bottom of it once and for all.

"Reading a very interesting case file actually." He looked hard at her, "About a frog." She stiffened a little and her eyes narrowed.

"Really? Did it say anything interesting?"

"Actually, yes it did." He smiled, it was working, he didn't feel sorry for himself anymore and his conscience was breathing a sigh of relief, causing him to push forwards with his questions and accusations. "Did you ever find your gun, Jen?"

"No, I'm afraid I didn't."

"Strange, considering there were flaws on the bullet found at the scene of Benoit's murder that match those from a bullet from the gun clip you handed me." She pretended to mull it over.

"Strange coincidence." Gibbs' eyes darkened dangerously.

"_Coincidence_? What did you do with it, Jen?"

"What does it matter, Jethro?"

"You killed an unarmed man, that's murder!"

"You mean my missing _gun_ killed an unarmed man." She smiled sweetly at him. "That is _all_ you can prove. How do you know he wasn't armed? He may just have never had the chance to use it."

"Damn it Jenny!" He jumped up from his chair and paced the floor at the foot of her bed angrily. He fumed silently. Why couldn't she just tell him the truth? He strode back to her bedside and leaned down over her. "Did you kill La Grenouille?" She said nothing and just stared into his eyes until the scrutiny became too much and she looked away guiltily. "Why don't you trust me Jen?"

"What?" she looked confused at his question.

"First Svetlana, then your father, then Benoit. You've kept some pretty big secrets from me-"

"Oh you can talk! What about your first wife? Your daughter? Your revenge against the drug lord that killed them? Did you think I didn't know about that one? What's the matter Jethro, are you the only one who's allowed to have or condone retribution?"

"None of my secrets have cost any innocent people their lives!"

"Svetlana was a mistake! I tried to take her out myself so no one would get hurt."

"So it's ok to not tell me if you kill them first?"

"That's not what I'm saying-"

"If you had killed Svetlana in the diner without getting hurt, would you have told me?"

"I guess we'll never know."

"I am sick of hearing that line from you!"

"Well that's a shame because that is all I'm saying about it!"

"Why didn't you trust me enough to tell me?" he asked viciously.

"It wasn't about trust; it was about need to know."

"Oh, so I don't need to know you've become a cold blooded killer?" he watched her eyes reflect the hurt and he played his ace. "Nine years too late." He added spitefully.

"Get out." Jenny avoided his gaze completely, and the hollow look in her eyes told him he had gone too far.

"HEY!! People are trying to get some shut-eye around here, for crying out loud! Now keep it down or I'll throw you _both_ out!" Mike spoke up from the other side of the hospital room and both Jenny and Gibbs jumped slightly, having forgotten he was present. "Now I've heard everything you two have said, Probie, so you tell me how is her killing this frog any different to me killing Arkady Kobach? While you watched. He'd dropped his gun, he was unarmed yet you didn't care. Just told me someone else would take his place."

"That's different, he had avoided justice for far too long and he killed people-"

"No, he carried a gun, but his henchmen killed people. Probably so he didn't have to."

"You said that guy plagued your dreams-"

"La Grenouille plagued _mine_!" Jenny spoke up, thinking about all the nightmares she had had over the years, of Benoit murdering her father and her being too late to save him, no matter how fast she ran.

"It's not the same!" Gibbs shouted angrily.

"Why? Is it because she's a woman?" Gibbs glared at Mike, knowing that he was a bigger chauvinist then he ever would be and realised that he was being goaded. He kept quiet and Mike smiled in victory. "Is it because she's _your_ woman?"

Nobody spoke, both Gibbs and Jenny to afraid to hear the answer that the other might give and studiously avoiding being the first to lay their heart on the line. Mike looked back and forth between their faces and was highly amused to see almost the same expression on both of them. After a few moments of silence Mike decided to take matters in to his own hands. He had done all the gentle nudging he was going to do. Now was the time to get tough.

"What's the matter with you two? You've both told _me_ how much you care about each other, but you won't say anything when you're both in the same room?" He turned to Jenny. "You told me that you regret leaving him; that you were going to tell him how you feel, how much you love him." She looked at Gibbs briefly but the hurtful words he had just said to her were too fresh in her mind, so she looked away. He decided to try Jethro. "You told me how much you missed her while you were in Mexico with me. You told me how much you love her. You've been by her bedside since she was brought to hospital after the shooting and even volunteered to look after her when she goes home." Gibbs looked at Jenny, remembering every moment he spent hoping she would wake up, the moment he had seen the gun Svetlana had put to her head. Maybe he was being a bastard now, but he just wanted her to tell him the truth! "Tell him, girl."

"Yes, I killed La Grenouille, and I'm not sorry I did." She looked Gibbs in the eye. "I wiped down every inch of the gun and then tossed it after him, over the side of his boat."

"Thank you, for being honest with me." Jethro returned the show of faith. Mike was less than impressed though, after everything he just said, _that_ was all they were going to say?!

"Right. Well, now that's sorted can you just kiss and make up?" The twin glares that Mike received made him glad that his legs worked fine.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

The Rock-Metal music streaming out of the doors to Abby's lab told Special Agent Timothy McGee that Abby was feeling better. Not back to her usual self, though, since the music was at half its customary volume. He held the Caf-Pow he had brought with him close to his chest to stop it from sloshing around, and then stuck his head around the door, trying to sneak up like Gibbs did. His gaze travelled around the lab, passing over Abby's Army carefully, making sure they wouldn't reveal his presence. He couldn't stop the grin that spread on his lips when he saw her stood at the plasma screen near the glass sliding doors, unaware of his presence. She spun around suddenly and he pulled his head back around the doorway violently, the muscle in his neck twanging in protest. He gritted his teeth and stilled his head, the bizarre tingling in his tongue making him feel slightly nauseous. He stayed quiet for a few moments, hearing the sounds of the keys on a keyboard being hit and sighed in relief._ Nearly blew it there_. The pain lessened and he rolled his neck experimentally, relaxing when nothing untoward happened.

Peeking back around the corner he saw why he could hear the key taps over the music. Abby was standing at the computer in the middle of her lab, distractedly typing with one finger, slamming it on whatever key it managed to hit, not really seeing anything she was writing. Tim immediately abandoned the attempt at sneaking up on her, his intense concern for her wellbeing overriding his desire to make her jump. He walked quickly over to her side and placed the Caf-Pow on the desk.

"Hey Abby, what's wrong?" she turned to him and threw her arms around his neck. He braced himself to go flying backwards when she hugged him, but instead found himself being pulled forwards as she buried her head in his neck. "Hey. It's ok." He rubbed her back softly as she held him a little closer, a few tears wetting his shirt. She had obviously cried herself quiet prior to him coming to see her, he had caught the ebb.

"It could've gone so wrong… She could've died. Gibbs could've died, they all could've died. That-that-that bitch! She tried to take them away from us…" he was astonished with her language, she must be really upset.

"But she didn't Abby. Gibbs and Assistant Director Vance killed her first."

"Vance died McGee! It could've been one of them so easily!"

"It could have been us at any day of the week. We have dangerous jobs; it's actually more surprising that more of us haven't died because, you know, statistically we have lost fewer personnel than any other Agency. The FBI is always losing Agents-" Abby's hand shot out and covered his mouth.

"McGee, your pep talk sucks. The first part was good though, when did you get so wise?"

"It's something Gibbs said back when Paula Cassidy was alive, when we were supposed to take that weekend." Abby nodded understandingly and returned to the hug. "You know, the crisis is over. Svetlana is dead. We could go to the hospital for a visit…?" He left the suggestion hanging in the air and she stiffened in his arms, pulling back suddenly, a smile breaking out over her features like Dawn over the sea.

"Yes! We can go see Mummy and Daddy in hospital! That would be so great!" She bounded away from him in to her back office to get her coat, leaving Tim to ponder her confusing words.

_Mummy and Daddy?_ "Is the Director Pregnant?"

"What? I don't know, I mean, you never know but… Do you really think she is?" Abby switched off the music and turned off the lights, shrugging into her coat and pulling her bag from behind her desk.

"Well, you know her better than me… and you just said-"

"I know what I just said! We might be getting Gibblets!" she pumped her fist in triumph before a speculative look came over her features and her face fell. She stomped back over to McGee and slapped his head when she reached him. "That's for confusing me. I said that because Jenny is like the mummy of NCIS and Gibbs is like the daddy! You got me all excited about a little Gibblet…" She gave him a glare and spun on her heel, snagging the Caf-Pow he had brought on her way out the door. McGee shook his head and followed her, catching the lift just in time.

Abby had been insisting upon driving, but had been so excited about going to see Gibbs and the Director, that she walked with him to his car, and not noticed until she was sat in the passenger seat. He had told her that her concentration was obviously wandering, so letting him drive would be safer, and he promised; faster. She had agreed quickly, not wanting to delay the trip, and so McGee drove them to the hospital in his car. The journey passed slowly, the nagging worry for Abby making him glance in her direction several times a minute. He had expected her to talk nonstop on the way there, but he had found himself having to pull words out of her. The shooting and the stress of the prolonged investigation had taken its toll on her nerves, causing her to clam up. He cringed inwardly when he thought about the reservoir of words being held back and felt a stab of sympathy for Gibbs and Director Shepard, knowing they would be the focus of the torrent when the dam was released.

As soon as he pulled in to a space, Abby bolted from the car and stalked towards the door. McGee ran to catch up with her so he could show her to the room, therefore bypassing the ever present reporters who were hanging around waiting for every scrap of information they could over hear. He touched her arm and gestured for her to follow him, not saying anything so the journalists couldn't use anything he said for their own ends. She fell in to step with him and he guided her along the corridor, checking no one was trying to follow them.

"Tony and Ziva are guarding the door." He whispered, just in case. Abby nodded and moved faster once she saw them. The damaged window and door at Jenny's house had been repaired, allowing Ziva to join Tony for guard duty that morning.

McGee had to hand it to them; they weren't as obvious as the previous guards. He could have easily mistaken them for worried relatives, taking a moment outside their loved one's room. If they had been at the door when Svetlana had been running from Gibbs, she would probably not have found the room in time to do so much damage. He shook his head, trying to get rid of those thoughts. It was over and done with; dwelling on it would only do more harm. He quickened his pace after checking the corridor behind him once more, getting to Tony and Ziva mere seconds after Abby.

----

"Can we go in?" Abby blurted out the second she was in earshot. She desperately needed to get in to see them, to make sure they were alright with her own eyes. Well, with all her senses really. Ok, so maybe not taste that would be just weird…

"Of course, Abby." Ziva said, like anyone could say no to her. The glistening in her eyes scared Ziva in to opening the door to reveal Gibbs, just in case she wanted a hug, which she did. Timmy's was a nice hug, but she really needed to hug Gibbs and Jenny!

"…and make up?" The end of a sentence floated out to them and they exchanged confused glances. Abby charged through the door excitedly.

"Did someone mention Makeup?" she glanced around and then zeroed in on Jethro. "Gibbs!" She flung herself at Gibbs, not noticing the glares that he and Jenny were giving Mike. She gave him a bone crushing hug and then released him and turned to Jenny, her arms flailing uselessly as she realised there wasn't any good way to hug her without hurting her. She gave up and took the hand that Jenny offered her out of what she assumed was sympathy, but was more like a need for something to distract her from Mike's words. "'Cos I can do yours for you, Director. If you need me to. I'm not suggesting you can't do it yourself, 'cos you obviously can, you've been doing it all your life. Well not _all_ your life 'cos then you'd have to have been wearing it as a baby and that's just silly, I meant; for ages. Well not _ages_, 'cos you're not that old-"

"Thank you Abby. That's very kind of you." Jenny said softly, effectively cutting her off mid grave-digging. Abby gave her a bright smile.

"I was so worried about you guys. Ducky has the evil woman on ice and me and TIMMY…" she called out his name making him pop his head around the corner of the door and then shuffle into the room. "Have been digging into her belongings. She had a hotel key card on her, as well as a receipt for one in LA." McGee took over the report.

"I dug through her bank records; the money sent out has been accounted for in the accounts of all the dead men now in Autopsy, so all of her hired hands, or at least the ones she paid, are dead." Gibbs nodded.

"Good work you two. McGee, take Ziva and check out the hotel room. Take everything into evidence."

Abby sat on the edge of Jenny's bed and squeezed her hand, the beginnings of tears gathering in her eyes.

"I was so worried about you. When I heard you'd been shot, and then attacked in the hospital, and then attacked in this hospital, it felt like fate was out to get you and no one could stop it." The tears began to roll down her cheeks. "I thought you'd be killed and I'd never get to talk to you again, tell you… how much I like your dress sense. It's so you and sophisticated. You still need to come on a walk with me and Jethro like you said you would, we need to go shopping and you still need a tattoo." She leaned down and threw her arms around her, trying to keep her hands away from her wounded shoulder. Jenny winced, but wrapped her uninjured arm around the sobbing Goth, trying to calm her by softly stroking her head, while wondering when she had agreed to getting body art.

"It's ok, Abby, I'm fine. Shhhh."

"It could've been so wrong." She tightened her grip on Jenny and the pain flared in her shoulder. Gibbs saw the colour draining from her face and decided to give her a hand. He tapped Abby on the shoulder, and then lifted her away from Jenny, hugging Abby until the tears went away.

"You have a strange team, Probie, and a bizarre family." Gibbs gave Mike a small smile over Abby's shoulder and then sat her back on the edge of Jenny's bed. She was tired out from stress and the exhaustion took over.

"DiNozzo! Take Abby home." Tony popped his head around the doorway and nodded, walking over to the sleepy woman and Gibbs helped her to stand. She was half asleep and probably wouldn't make it to his car.

"Damn, boss… I'll ask for another bed to be brought in." Tony walked away swiftly and returned a few seconds later with an orderly, who was wheeling in a bed. They placed it between Mike and Jenny, so the curtain could still separate the girls from Mike, who wanted his privacy from all the mush that _should_ be going on, but didn't seem likely. Tony returned to guarding the door and Gibbs sat between the sleeping forms of Abby and Jenny, keeping watch over his girls.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Clarisse Hurley.

A.N.: Thanks to MatteaAM for telling me about the letter she left on her desk. I know you told me about it so long ago, but it took this long to get them to the point where they can have a civil conversation, lol. Special thanks to everybody who has reviewed this story and the 54 people who have it on alert! _Jibbsy fluff ahead!_

Leroy Jethro Gibbs placed his newly acquired hot coffee on the table between Jenny and Abby, and then brushed some stray hair from Jenny's face as she slept, wondering why he became such a coward when it came to talking to her, especially about his feelings. He seemed to need to turn everything into an argument, to feed his frustration at her, preventing his heart from getting to the point of being hurt. It had worked well for so long, at least with his three ex-wives, but Jenny was different. His heart always got hurt in their arguments, no matter how much he tried to shield it, and now he was sure hers did too. The conversation they had had the day before was enlightening in many ways. She had spilled her heart to Mike too, and if what they each hadn't said yesterday was any indication, she was just as unsure about saying something as he was. He smirked to himself as he decided on a plan of action, then the smirk faded as he remembered she still had to find out he had rummaged through her underwear drawers. The paper underwear the hospital staff put on her had to come off for good at some point, which was when she would get mad at him. Maybe they were just destined to dance around each other, never getting closer, to the point of being together.

Mike made a strange noise to attract his attention, so he turned to look at him.

"Time's a wastin', probie. What's it gonna take to get the two of you together?" Jethro heaved a sigh of annoyance.

"If I knew that, don't you think I'd have done it?" Mike raised his eyebrows.

"At the rate you two are going? Not really. What's it been since you told me how you felt? Two years?"

"Your point?"

"My point is that you have been harbouring these feelings for so long, you _can't_ let them out. Don't kid yourself in to believing that a near death experience will change things between you, your coma was such an experience, and all that did was to make you crawl off to Mexico and hide with me for four months."

"Are you saying I should give up?"

"No. I'm saying you should get your act together and take charge of the situation. Women like a man who can take over, someone who can _take care of them_."

The heavy hinting at the end of the sentence clicked on the proverbial light bulb in Gibbs' head. He had already committed himself to looking after her, Ducky had pushed him to that, so he should just tell her that he was taking care of her and not take no for an answer. He had something to distract her with anyway. He patted his jacket pocket, thinking about the letter he had found on her desk. He had nearly sent it to get washed with the rest of his bloody clothes, but had remembered it at the last second and transferred it to this jacket. There was no way she was getting out of explaining this to him.

"No time like the _present_, probie."

Mike stressed the word angrily, he was clearly getting impatient and now that he had nothing better to do, he wanted to play matchmaker. Well he wasn't the only one who wanted to see them together, Jethro did too, but he just couldn't seem to broach the subject. Jenny was a live mine, no matter how carefully you step, if you get too close to a sensitive area; she explodes. He yawned suddenly, sitting down back between Jenny and Abby and closing his eyes for a moment.

He had spent the night briefing the new Acting Director, Clarisse Hurley, who would be taking over for Jenny until she was well enough to go back to work. She had been a rising star, much like Jenny had been, and her promotion to Assistant Director was to be officially announced a week after Leon's funeral in respect for him. She had no intention of being Acting Director for long though, she was getting married in a few months and she hoped to be able to go on a honeymoon, and come back to a less dangerous and more family friendly job than Jenny's, since she was two months pregnant. Jethro smiled, it was nice to work with someone who wouldn't stab you in the back for a promotion. Clarisse had never wanted to be Director, the publicity was far too much for the shy woman, and her fiancé didn't want his picture in the Stars and Stripes whenever he accompanied her to a function. Secnav had had to practically bribe her to take the position by promising longer maternity leave. After Leon, she had been the most qualified by far. She had even worked in the NCIS building during Jenny's Directorship, so she knew what she should and shouldn't do and the staff liked her. She was the perfect filler while Jenny recovered.

Ziva and McGee had reported in at 4 that morning, bringing all of Svetlana's belongings to evidence and closing the case, finally. They would be writing their reports today, as would he when he left to go to the Navy Yard. He would take Abby with him and ask one of his team if they would be present at Jenny's room at all times. Nearly losing her so many times had made him slightly paranoid, but if it kept her alive, he didn't care. A nurse entered the room, bringing a bowl of water and a sponge to wash Jenny's wounds. Gibbs stood and took the bowl from her.

"I'll do it, thanks."

"Feeling brave again, Mr. Gibbs?" the nurse teased him, since he hadn't dared to do it since Jenny had woken up. He smiled at her, taking the good natured jab as intended and she left, pulling Mike's curtain along as she passed, giving them some privacy.

Turning to Jenny, he carefully removed the bandage from her shoulder, and pulled the covers down to her waist, then pulled her gown up just enough so he could see her wound, while keeping the rest of her covered. He peeled back the bandage on her stomach and reached for the bowl. The angry red skin of her bullet wounds contrasted sharply with the pale white all around, and he couldn't help but close his eyes against the reminder of how close he had come to losing her. '_Get your act together', _Mike's voice resounded in his head, and he determinedly chose his words carefully for when she awoke. He was going to win the inevitable argument because he was right and she will know it and give in, hopefully. He smiled despite himself as he recalled how difficult it was to talk to her, particularly with one or both of them always throwing some double entendre or an accusation. He picked up the sponge and carefully began cleaning the stitched up holes, being sure to get every bit of dirt that might be covering her. She stirred beneath his touch and her eyes flickered open, before taking in the scene. He knew it was time to talk to her.

"Jethro, what-?" before she could get too angry at him, he decided to lay down the law. _May as well get all that anger out of her at once_.

"I'm taking care of you from here on out, Jenny. Ducky has agreed to come over to my house and check up on you. _To make sure I haven't killed you_-" he mumbled the last part mostly under his breath, but he was really too close for her to not hear him. He set the sponge aside and watched her face take on a red tinge of indignation.

"I'm more likely to kill you! How dare you make such a decision-?"

"You are in no fit state to take care of yourself-"

"Noemi can help me."

"Noemi has a family of her own to go to. She does have a life outside taking care of you."

"I know that! There must be someone else-"

"I don't have any other commitments to attend to while I'll be looking after you, so the only realistic choice is me. Unless you have a boyfriend you haven't told us about?"

"No, I don't."

"Then it's settled. I'm taking care of you." Jenny closed her eyes in resignation and then glared at him.

"On one condition, we stay at my house." Gibbs sighed, and picked the sponge back up.

"Fine." _No boat at her house_, oh the things he did for her...

He helped her to carefully turn over so he could reach the exit wounds, and then he dipped the sponge and began cleaning those too. She winced a little, but he was quite gentle, so she couldn't complain too much. He saw Mike leaning around the curtain to give him thumbs up, and he shook his head in amusement. When he was finished, he bandaged her up and helped her turn back over, bandaging up the front and the adjusting her hospital gown and bed cover. She smiled at him in thanks and reached up with her good arm to help him move the bowl, just as he moved to put the sponge back in it and her hand connected with his pocket by accident. His pocket made a crunching sound and her forehead creased in concentration, trying to identify it. Jethro took a deep breath, his heart pounding in his chest. He may find out what the letter was supposed to say sooner than he had planned.

"While I was at your house to pack you a bag, I found something on your desk." Jenny's eyes narrowed and she glared at him suspiciously.

"You packed a bag for me? What did you get?"

"Clothes, underwear, toiletries…" he looked at her sharply. "Don't change the subject." Jenny's expression hardened as his list went on and he knew the explosion was due any second. When she spoke her voice was steady and cold.

"You went through my underwear?!" Gibbs sighed and looked up just in time to see Mike slink back behind the curtain warily. _Lucky bastard_. He really didn't want to scrap with her, so he made his voice as soft but resolved as possible.

"Jenny, it's nothing I haven't seen before. I have had four wives." She had the good grace to look embarrassed and properly chastised.

"I know, I'm sorry. It just feels like I'm spoiling for a fight. I've been cooped up in here for too long." He knew the feeling, just staring at the same four walls had been too much for him too, and he had been able to leave for a short wander. She couldn't, so all her frustrations were being stored up until an unwitting idiot (like himself) pressed the wrong buttons.

"Well, I'll see about getting you some physiotherapy sorted out, how about that? You won't be able to do much but it should give you something to focus on." She smiled at him gratefully.

"That would be great, thank you." He grinned at her and watched her eyes return to his pocket. He decided the best approach would be to just show it to her. He pulled the letter out of his pocket and unfolded it, knowing he had her undivided attention. Her eyes caught the paper and once she recognised it, they widened.

"I found this on your desk. You addressed it to me, but it's unfinished." He showed her the script on the paper, saying clearly 'Dear Jethro' and his gaze captured hers. "What was it going to say?" She swallowed hard but stayed silent. "What did you want to say to me, Jenny?" She looked away and then sighed before returning her eyes to his burning gaze.

"Do you remember Carson?" Gibbs nodded remembering vividly the child he had tricked her in to keeping at her house overnight, during the investigation into the boy's father. It was that night that she had, in a roundabout way, asked him to stay the night and he had refused her. "I began the letter that night, before you came over." she blinked away a few tears angrily, as the sting of his rejection resurfaced. "But after you left, I realised there was no point in carrying it on." Gibbs placed the letter on the side table and then reached over her, taking both her hands in his, stroking them soothingly. "I couldn't burn it, so I hid it on my desk beneath all my work and tried to forget about it." He felt wretched and promised himself a head slap for later, for giving her the wrong impression with such dire consequences.

"It wasn't that I didn't want you Jenny; it just wasn't the right time. There was a nine year old 'DiNozzo' in the house and… you were broody. It was wrong of me to make you take care of the boy when you never had children of your own." She shook her head gently in disagreement.

"You misread me. I wasn't asking you for anything like that. I _just_ wanted you to stay with me." He internally groaned as he thought of all of the time they had wasted, time they could have spent together. He cursed his gut for not telling him he was making a mistake, before apologising to it because it had; he had just ignored it, his wounded pride getting in the way. He decided to swallow some of that superiority and ask her a question that had been worrying him, his stomach flip-flopping in anticipation.

"You weren't worried about being the rebound?" She raised an eyebrow at him and smirked.

"Hollis was the rebound, Jethro." He couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him at that. He had known there was a reason she hadn't been particularly hostile to the other woman, and apparently this was it. She had known Hollis wouldn't last very long and had kept out of it, avoiding possible altercations and blame throwing later. His Jenny was a clever woman. She smiled back a little smugly. "You had come out of a coma not long ago, so from your perspective you had just lost your family. If I were you, I'd have wanted someone who looked the polar opposite to them, too." He grinned and dropped his head, his gaze straying over their joined hands. He squeezed them tenderly and indicated the letter with his head.

"So, what would it have said?" her smile turned coy suddenly, and she bit her bottom lip.

"It was going to say that I'm sorry for leaving you a letter when I walked away nine years ago, but I hoped this one would make up for it." She lifted her good shoulder in a self-conscious half-shrug and gave him a small smile. "It would have said that you flaunting Hollis at work had hurt me and that I'm glad it ended, even though I know I deserved every minute." She sighed and closed her eyes briefly, recalling the words she had been about to write on the paper lying two feet from her on the table, the letter she had decided she couldn't finish after he had tersely rebuffed her advances. "That I had never wanted to cause you pain but I hadn't wanted to be hurt either. I didn't want to be just another number to you. I didn't know about your family back then, to me you were just a multiple divorcee with no apparent intention of settling down. You were a complicated risk that I just wasn't strong enough to take." Her eyes pleaded with him to understand her reasons and she paused, waiting for some sign that she should carry on, or that she had said too much. He nodded to her and she took a deep, relieved breath. "It would have said that I still love you… and that leaving you was the most difficult thing I have ever done, and the only decision I have deeply regretted since making it."

She didn't have chance to add anything to the end as Jethro leaned forward and captured her lips in a gentle but possessive kiss, re-staking his claim on her. She released her good hand from his grasp and wound it around his shoulder, threading her fingers into his hair and holding him close to her, so she could deepen it. Jethro realised her intentions and enthusiastically intensified the kiss, losing himself in her taste and her smell, the fresh sensation blending with his memories in a perfect union, the moment too incredible to stop. He was finally kissing his Jen; it felt so right, like he was back where he belonged, there was no way in hell she was getting away again. She moaned softly in his mouth and he pulled back to look into her eyes.

"I love you too, Jenny." He whispered it to her, but the sound carried around the spartan room and he suddenly became aware of other sounds, like a curious snuffling. He turned his head and followed the source of the sound to a tearstained Abby being shushed by Mike, who threw his hands up in defeat when he noticed they had stopped kissing.

"That was so beautiful…" Abby dissolved in to another fit of tears and Gibbs shrugged apologetically at the slightly flushed Jenny, not knowing what to do with Abby now she was crying, in what he assumed was happiness. "I'll call Timmy to come pick me up!"

She jumped up and raced out the door, her belongings already packed up. Jethro shook his head wondering where she got her energy from before catching Mike's gaze, who indicated the suspiciously non steaming coffee cup he had placed there. He narrowed his eyes, Abby just shot rule 23 to hell, and she was going to pay for it. Tomorrow. Jethro leaned back over Jenny, catching her more than willing lips in another searing kiss. Now she just needed to heal and their blossoming relationship had to survive it, but finally after nine years they were back on track.

_Next chapter skips ahead to him bringing her home from the hospital!_


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

"One more time for me please?" The physiotherapist / torturer urged her on and Jenny gave a final and considerably painful lurch forward and then slumped back on the pillows. "Ok that's great."

The therapist clicked his tongue as he noted down her progress on his clip board and then reached over to adjust the height of her bed, so she was sitting up further. He'd had her reclining and then sitting all the way up to try and exercise her muscles. It was working but, damn did it burn! Jenny was both proud and annoyed at her success, since twenty sit ups were more than she had been able to do yesterday, yet considerably less than what she could do a month ago, before she was shot. She groaned in frustration, she felt useless; she hadn't even been able to get to the bathroom without help in the beginning. She grimaced as she remembered the catheter coming out soon after her physio had started. Jethro had had to help her to the toilet, and then he'd had to retrieve her once she was done. Not exactly what you wanted your, well… ex-lover turned boyfriend… to do for you. It was sweet, it was just… he must have been as disgusted with her as she was. _The_ _sooner my stomach is back at full strength, the better_.

"Your stomach muscle seems to be coping well with the strain of bending. You will need to do these exercises twice daily to strengthen it without over taxing it, so bed rest for most of the day, I'm afraid." He smiled at her patronizingly and she shot him a glare.

_I'll take half strength_, she thought mutinously, just so she could walk out of this damn hospital. Mike had been fortunate enough to have been released a week earlier, since his arm and fingers were the only things wrong and he had agreed to come back in for physio. He had been a bit of an ass about it too, by waving his bad arm in big exaggerated circles as he walked out the door towards freedom. He had been staying with Jethro so he came in with him when he came to see her. They were both due in anytime now in fact, so Jenny decided to get through the shoulder exercises twice as fast, so she could have Jethro help her get a shower. She desperately needed one. The exertion from sitting up had caused a thin layer of sweat to spring up on her forehead and her hair was beginning to stick to it.

"Ok and now raise your arm out in front of you… and hold for five seconds." She did so easily, her arm was one thing she had been able to exercise regularly, and while it still wasn't up to par, it could lift and hold a glass of water for a few minutes. The therapist had her continue with a few more movements before calling it quits. "You have made excellent progress, so I think you should soon be self sufficient again. Well done and try not to overdo the workouts." He smiled at her again and this time she smiled back, feeling pretty good. The next words she wanted to hear from a medical professional were 'clean bill of health'. He told her when he wanted to see her next and then left.

She sighed in relief to be alone for a few moments; she flexed her arms and then her legs and gazed at the bathroom joined to her room. She needed the toilet and a shower, so it probably won't be too bad if she walked over there herself. Jethro had told her to wait for him because he wanted to make sure she was alright. '_What if you fall and can't get back up?_' he'd said. _I'll crawl over to the door and wait for one of my security detail to answer it, since you still seem to think I need protecting._ Her half-sarcastic reply had riled him up a little, but seriously, the lack of threats on her life surely showed that the danger had passed. She made up her mind and hefted herself off of the bed, holding it tightly to get her balance and let her stomach adjust to the extra strain. So far so good. She grinned, elated as she made her way steadily to the end of her bed. The wounds had healed so she wasn't in danger of bursting any stitches, just spraining a muscle. Just as she let go of the bed and took her first few steps forwards, a hand shot out and wrapped around her waist, while his scent wrapped around her mind.

"It's rude to sneak up on people Jethro." she huffed. He chuckled and pulled her tightly to him.

"How badly do you need it?" his question startled her, why would he want to know that? Was there somewhere he really needed to be?

"I'm not overly desperate, why?" he turned her to face him and pressed a soft kiss on her lips.

"Because I'm taking you home. I heard your therapist say you were doing very well, and now that you aren't in any immediate danger, your doctor should allow you to come home with me." She smiled widely and twined her arms around his neck.

"Finally!" he smirked and then gave the closest look to adoration she had ever seen from him.

"How does a hot bath sound?" He pecked a kiss on her lips again and her smile turned coy. "Once I've sprung you and gotten you settled in at yours, I'll run you one."

"Will you join me?" Jenny was deeply touched by the small gesture and decided she wanted to share it with him.

"Where else do you think I'll be while you're uncovered?" they rubbed noses and Mike harrumphed behind them.

"Ok seriously, if you had wanted a private, mushy conversation you should have warned me. Or left me in the car."

"Hello, Mike." Jenny was used to Mike's odd way of announcing his presence, since she hadn't been able to kiss or cuddle with Jethro while Franks was in the room, without some inappropriate comment drifting out from behind the privacy curtain.

"Director." He gave her a respectful nod and then glanced around the room. "Therapist gone walkabout?" His appointment was due and he was eager to get it over and done with. "I'm getting this damn cast off today." He smirked and held up his plaster encased hand, the tips of his fingers just visible between the discoloured fluff.

"Have you been smoking with that hand?" Jenny enquired, shocked that he had managed to hold a cigarette, and often enough to make his fluff yellow-y orange.

"It's an art girl; I wouldn't expect you to understand. Gunny, I'm off to find that wayward physio guy." He gave another nod and marched out of the room. Jenny laughed and pulled Jethro in for a kiss, revelling in the simple contact that had been unthinkable not too long ago. This was something that she would never take for granted, not after everything they had been through together, and especially not after what had happened for them to reach this point. She stroked her fingers down the side of his face and then ran them over his lips.

"Take me home Jethro."

--

Jethro walked over the threshold of Jenny's townhouse, carrying her bridal style and trying to stop himself from laughing as she complained that Mike was staring at her ass and Mike refuted her words, while pretending to be studying her butt for panty lines. The two had been digging at each other ever since Mike had had his cast off and Jenny had told him his hand smelled of Nicotine and feet. He retaliated by telling her she smelled of sweat and frustration and they still hadn't quit teasing each other. Noemi held the door open as they passed and closed it hurriedly after them.

"Señor Gibbs, the luncheon is no ready." She stopped behind him apprehensively and then smiled at Jenny when he turned around. "Señora, it is good to see you."

"Thank you Noemi, it's good to see you too, and don't worry about lunch, I'll be bathing for a while." The relief was evident on the young woman's face and she smiled and then returned to the kitchen. Mike watched her go and then turned to Gibbs and Jenny.

"So, is there room in that tub for three?" Jenny reached over and batted his head playfully.

"No way old man. I'm having him all to myself for once." Jethro rolled his eyes at their banter and carried her upstairs to her bedroom.

"Remember, you can't do anything too taxing!" Mike called up the stairs after them, his voice dripping with innuendo. He chuckled to himself and then walked over to the phone, deciding to start the round robin of health updates and invites to dinner. He picked up the phone and dialled Jenny's office.

"Hello its Mike Franks… Ah Cynthia! I thought I recognised that beautiful voice… Jenny is home now and she's inviting you to dinner… 1800 hours… just bring your pretty self and pass on the invite to Gibbs' team, Thanks." _Suave Mike, very suave, _he thought to himself, chuckling at her humouring tone. With nothing better to do, Mike decided to see if Noemi needed a hand with dinner preparations. It may not look like it, but he was actually quite a decent cook. He diverted himself to the sink to wash his hand again (it really did smell awful) and then enquired where Noemi needed his expertise.

--

Jethro placed Jenny on her bed gently and dropped her bag on the floor by the bed. She sighed in pleasure as she lay back on her super soft bed and closed her eyes. Gibbs grinned and ghosted a kiss on her forehead, then turned to her bathroom and ran the water. When it began to get hot he put the plug in and picked up some bubble bath and bath oil. Abby had gone shopping for relaxation stuff and had brought back a lot of rather superfluous bath candles and scents, what was it, aromatherapy. He was pretty sure that if he mentioned the word therapy in her own home, Jenny would castrate him. He poured in a good amount of the bubble bath and watched the bubbles froth up, knowing she would like it like that. Shrugging his shoulders he dropped in some of the bath oil too. He then placed the candles around the bathroom strategically and poured some of that scented oil into one of those oil burners. If it worked Jenny would be happy, and that was the important thing. He nodded, satisfied with his handiwork and turned off the taps. He lit all of the candles and was pleasantly surprised to find the scent was quite nice. He walked back into the bedroom and watched Jenny pull off her clothes and sit on the edge of the bed in her underwear, waiting for him to help her.

"See something you like?" She asked, only a small quiver in her voice giving away the fact his answer was important to her. This was the first time he had seen her in her underwear in nine years, and though time had touched her, it had hardly left its mark. He moved towards her and helped her to stand and then stood back as she allowed him to gaze at her body, the two scars prominent against the rest of her skin. He smiled at her tenderly, she had never been particularly self conscious about her body, but the scars were enough to give her self esteem a serious blow. He looked over her perfect, soft skin and then knelt before her to press his lips to the scar on her stomach, mirroring the action she had done for him, back in Paris, when his old scars had caused a momentary uncertainty for him. She was beautiful, he knew it, she knew it, and he was going to reassure her about it.

"You. I like all of you. Every inch of your skin; your hair, your scars, everything. You couldn't be any more beautiful, any more perfect. I love your body and I love you." He stood and kissed away her tears, pulling her to him in a warm, cosy hug. "Besides, my scars are more impressive."

She laughed with him and then pulled him in for a kiss, composing herself and giving him a nice reward for being so charming. He held her hands and led her in to the bathroom, turning off the light as he reached it, so the glow of the candle light spilled out through the door. She gasped softly at the sight and squeezed his hand in gratitude. He smiled and shut the door behind them sealing them in, and allowing them to lose themselves in the relaxing atmosphere. He helped her to shed her underwear and then held her waist as she lowered herself into the tub of hot bubbly water. He gathered some bath gel and a sponge and placed them on the floor so they were in easy reach and then stripped off, allowing Jenny to watch him, fair's fair.

He got in behind her and drew her to him, his front pressing against her back. Her head fell back on his shoulder and they just floated and soaked for a long while, letting the soothing oil and aroma chase away the stress and strain of the day, the warmth surrounding them and the comfort of each other lulling them to sleep.

--

Ziva walked purposefully towards the door of her friend and boss with Tony, McGee, Abby, Cynthia and Ducky by her side. They had decided to all come at once so Jenny didn't have to answer the door six times, since they all knew she would try to, despite her current frailty. Ziva shivered, she would never have associated the word 'frail' with Jenny, not before this escapade. Gibbs had been incredibly over protective, like a bear defending its wounded mate. Which he was really, it was sweet yet worrying, in a 'your life is in mortal peril while you are in their presence' kind of way. She was too capable of defending herself to ever feel too threatened though, but it kept her on her toes regardless.

Tony noticed her shiver and moved closer to her, his hand resting on her back, but not too close to her butt because he wanted to keep his fingers. She felt her heart rate climb a little and she pressed back, so his fingers dug in a little more in her skin. He gave her a pleasantly surprised look and then grinned a little to her, his hand wrapping slightly further around her waist to gently pull her into his side. Her heart fluttered a little and she reminded herself they weren't alone. She removed his hand and squeezed it gently, before letting it go, so he would understand she wasn't brushing him off. He inclined his head faintly and then put a little distance between them as they reached the door.

Ducky reached the door first and pushed the door bell, standing back from the door slightly as it was opened. Jethro peered around the door, his eyes scanning every face in the crowd and then opened it wide, once he ascertained there was no threat. Ducky laughed a little and admonished his behaviour.

"Really Jethro, you need to calm down. Not everyone is suddenly going to be coming after her." Gibbs took the jab good naturedly and allowed them to enter.

"Hi Duck. Come on in and hang up your coats on the stand. Jenny, Mike and Noemi are in the living room, just through there." He pointed towards the kitchen at their blank looks, only Ziva seemed to know where to go. He assumed she had done some exploring while she had waited for the door replacing.

"Gibbs!" Abby flung herself at him in her customary 'Attack Gibbs on sight' approach. She had been allowed more of her Caf-Pow now that her two week rationing for stealing his coffee was over. Everyone had bought her one to pacify her and consequently she had spent most of the day in the toilet, according to DiNozzo. "Where's the bathroom?" she whispered urgently. He gestured up the stairs and she shot off, opening every door until she found it. He chuckled and then followed everyone else into the living room.

*

Dinner had been a wonderful distraction, the family interaction causing a cosy atmosphere to permeate the house, and the laughter helped to chase away the demons of all present. Jenny had made her own way to the kitchen to fetch something Noemi had forgotten to put out, not letting her get it herself since she had been working all day and deserved the respite. Ziva and Tony knew that they had the perfect chance and followed her in, the sounds from the others drowning out anything they would say. Jenny turned as she reached the island in the middle of the kitchen and she watched the two curiously, waiting for them to say something. Ziva took a deep breath and then launched into what she wanted to say.

"Jenny, I want you to know that I'm glad you are alive, very glad, but…" Tony continued for her.

"We want to know why you sent us away." Jenny sighed a little and rubbed her forehead slightly. Of all the things she had expected to deal with, their guilt wasn't one. She felt awful about her behaviour, but she knew she would do the same thing if she could. It was for the best, the less people under threat, the better.

"It wasn't a reflection on your ability, you both know you are the best, otherwise Jethro would never have assigned you to me. I wanted you to be safe, and I didn't want you getting caught up in my problem. You remember how well that went last time." She directed her last statement to Tony, who nodded, remembering how close he had come to being blown up, and how he had lost Jeanne afterwards.

"We could have helped you! If you had trusted us, we could have saved you from being hurt." Ziva enthused, her tone hurt and upset.

"Yes you could have, and I knew that, but the risk was too great. I didn't know how many men Svetlana would send for me, it was too dangerous. Just one would only give her cause to send two or three, I could handle that."

"Yes we noticed how well you handled them." Tony groused, pointing at her shoulder.

"Ok, I deserved that, but I made a decision that I thought was to the benefit of everyone involved. My sacrifice would not have been missed nearly as much as one of yours would have."

"You think we don't care for you?" Ziva was incredulous, the woman before her obviously hit her head harder than they had thought when she fell. "How could you think that?"

"You think that one screw up mission could make us hate you? Have you met Gibbs? If it were possible to hate someone over so little, he would have murdered us all over various coffee related incidents." Tony grinned, trying to relive the tension in the room.

Jenny beamed happily and then carefully moved away from the island, walking steadily towards the two Agents. When she got closer, she opened her arms and engulfed them both in a hug. Ziva gripped her tightly, while Tony patted her back awkwardly and tried to keep her from falling over, not sure how much pressure her body could take.

"I never doubted you; I just wanted to protect you." Jenny whispered, holding them tighter. "Forgive me?"

"Always." Ziva's muffled reply came from over her shoulder, followed shortly by Tony's identical one from her other shoulder.

"_Toda_ Ziva. Thank you Tony." She pulled back from the hug and then picked up the fruit basket Noemi had forgotten. "Now, shall we rejoin the feast?" they nodded and took one of her arms each, Tony taking the basket, and walking back into the dining room towards their family.

The End.

A.N.: Well, there you have it. I decided to end this story here, since there was no real reason to prolong it. It's been fun writing this story and the response from you guys made every long hour resulting in cramped fingers worth it! So thank you all for your support and encouragement! Most of all, thank you for your reviews! Special thanks to MatteaAM for all of your help with this story! Thanks to Pandora of Ithilien who has reviewed every chapter! Thanks to everyone who has alerted or favourite this story! Thank you!


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